By Staff
Lawn mower cuts wire on Slatestone Road
By CHRISTINA HALE, Staff Writer
A Washington employee was mowing grass along Slatestone Road Monday around 10:30 a.m. when he struck a guy-wire that caused a blackout for about 5,500 customers, said Washington Electric Utilities Director Keith Hardt.
The accident caused power outages for residents and businesses in Washington. “Primarily everyone east of Bridge Street was out,” Hardt said.
Parts of Bath and Pinetown were also without power. The utilities department had to replace an electrical conductor that was damaged as a result of the incident, Hardt said.
Heidi Smith with Tideland Electric Membership Corporation said its customers never lost power.
Some traffic lights were out in Washington, including one at the intersection of Fifth and Market streets. The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington Police Department were called to direct traffic. The N.C. Highway Patrol was also called to assist, but 1st Sgt. Doug Coley said, “they had it fixed before we could get there.”
Hardt said it took city officials only 15 minutes to get most of the power restored. He said the remaining 300 customers, near Washington High School and Old Bath Highway, were restored within an hour.