Rubbish truck crashes through power lines

  • 03/11/2016
Rubbish truck crashes through power lines

A Sydney woman and her baby had to run for cover after a rubbish truck ploughed through live power lines, tearing them down.

The driver of the truck accidentally left the hydraulic lid on the truck open while it was doing its rounds on Wednesday.

As the truck rounded a corner the lid smashed into first low-hanging tree branches, then the power lines.

Mum Lil Bentwitch was on a walk with her husband and her baby Rocky at the time, and the live wires narrowly missed them.

"We thought it was just a car backfiring or something and kind of looked around and heard some screams, and then my husband just said 'run'," Ms Bentwitch told Channel 7 News.

The family were forced to rush for cover, taking shelter under the staircase of a nearby building. Ms Bentwitch says it was a terrifying experience.

"Afterwards we were just walking along and I was a bit shaken and a bit emotional."

The power lines trapped the driver and his passenger inside the truck, but witnesses were unable to help because it was too dangerous.

Emergency services and electricity workers were able to rescue the pair.

"Main thing is no one got hurt today and everyone's going to be ok," said bystander Paula Santaglio.

It's not yet clear whether the issue was mechanical or if the driver was at fault, and the trucking company responsible, URM, has declined to comment to media.

Newshub.