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The annual Junction City event, Truck Function For Junction, that showcases semi and other commercial vehicles came to an early end Saturday night at 8:34 p.m. when the boom on a heavy-equipment tow truck inadvertently elevated snagging power, phone, and cable TV lines crossing Ivy St. (Hwy 99) at 16th St. The heavy-duty boom, flying an American flag, and powered by the enormous tow vehicle was so strong that it snapped telephone poles like twigs, ripped utility service entrance equipment from the roofs and walls of nearby buildings, destroyed transformers, and blew multiple utility circuit breakers. Remarkably, no one was injured.
All utility service provided by lines in this crossing was immediately lost. A spokesperson for Pacific Power & Light (PP&L) stated 151 customers were initially without power but as of 12:26 a.m. Sunday, all but 29 had been restored. PP&L stated they expected to have power restored to the remaining customers by 11:00 a.m. Sunday morning. The number of phone and cable TV customers impacted by this incident remains unknown. Hwy 99 (Ivy St.) remained closed to all traffic from 18th Street to 14th Street until utility workers were able to remove the low-hanging lines at about 10:18 p.m.
The cause of the incident was a malfunctioning remote control for the boom on the tow truck, which caused the boom to raise without the knowledge of the operator. There was no indication of criminal negligence or wrong doing on the part of the driver, alcohol was NOT factor in this incident, and the driver -- as well as the owner of the truck -- were fully cooperative during the investigation of this incident. No citations and/or charges were issued, and none are anticipated.
Personnel from the Junction City Police Department were assisted with this incident by the Junction City Fire Department, Junction City Public Works, The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Incident Response Team, Pacific Power and Light, and the Truck Function For Junction event staff.