Early in the morning on December 13, 2011, a female driver ran into a power
pole and fire hydrant. 18-year-old Angela Lira blacked out at a stoplight
around 7 a.m. She told authorities that she couldn’t remember anything
that had happened.
Lira was on her way to cosmetology classes at the Paul Mitchell School
when the crash took place. She told authorities that “All I remember
was the car turning, then I woke up.”
Lira’s Honda ran into the power pole, knocking it over and sending
live wires across a semi truck on West Marietta Street. The truck driver
had to wait for firefighters to arrive to get him out of the cab.
Atlanta firefighters said the trucker, who works for Cowan Systems LLC,
did the right thing by staying in his truck until they could confirm the
power was cut off. Atlanta Fire Capt. Bobby Ferrell reminds motorists
to “never open the door and get out of your car when wires are down.”
Downed wires can be lethal.
The trucker was unhurt in the incident, and Lira was treated at the scene
for minor injuries by Grady emergency medical personnel.
Several businesses lost power, traffic was backed up and eastbound lanes
were shut until 8:45 a.m. After an initial investigation, police decided
not to charge Lira for the accident.
On December 12, 2011, a similar accident occurred in Smyrna, when a car
crashed into a curb and struck power lines. This northwest Atlanta crash
occurred around 5:30 p.m. on Windy Hill Road near South Cobb Parkway.
Power was out until 8 p.m. and the collision affected 10,000 customers.
The driver suffered minor injuries but refused to go to the hospital following
the crash.
Kalka & Baer would like to wish all involved and injured in these
separate auto accidents a full recovery.
