Mt. Pleasant Township crash cuts power; responding medic unit damaged

A woman reportedly was injured and power was knocked out in a section of Mt. Pleasant Township Wednesday after a car split a utility pole in the 7600 block of Route 819 south of Armbrust.

The woman, who was not identified by authorities, was taken to an area hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

A Mt. Pleasant Medic 10 ambulance responded to the 1:15 p.m. crash and was damaged when it reportedly parked on live wires, blowing out a tire and catching it on fire, according to a firefighter at the scene. No one in the ambulance was injured.

Tom Prinkey had just finished cutting his lawn and had pulled his tractor into his garage when he heard the car slam into the mail box and split the utility pole in front of his house.

He said the female driver had a cut on her leg and had injured her wrist.

“I couldn’t believe it when the ambulance pulled up, apparently hit the live wire, blew a tire and then started smoking,” Prinkey said. “Everyone got out OK.”

Jeremy Garris, director of operations with Norvelt EMS which is affiliated with the Mt. Pleasant ambulance service, said the paramedic driving the ambulance was able to flee before the fire started. He said the fire was contained to a “very small area” near the engine compartment.

“Someone hit the pole, which brought the wires down. We responded and as the ambulance pulled up, one of the live wires popped on top of the ambulance, stuck there and (the ambulance) caught fire,” Garris said.

Before the fire started, the power surge “blew out two tires,” Garris said.

Garris said he treated the female patient before she was driven to an undisclosed hospital in a private car. State police in Greensburg were investigating, but a report was not available.

The ambulance had to be towed from the scene. Garris did not estimate the amount of damage done to the ambulance.

The section of Route 819 was closed to traffic as crews from West Penn Power responded.