The driver of an empty tanker had a providential escape after the vehicle hit an electric transformer on Kulamangalam-Alangulam Road at SVP Nagar on Thursday evening.
Police said the driver lost control of the vehicle which went on a spree of hitting things that came its way. After hitting a two-wheeler parked on the roadside and a tree, the vehicle hit a transformer with such a force that it got uprooted in the impact.
The tanker came to a halt only after its wheels got trapped in a roadside ditch. Luckily, no pedestrian nor motorist came under the transformer that fell across the narrow road.
The incident happened around 4.30 p.m. Tamil Nadu Electricity Board officials who rushed to the spot said that the transformer, worth ₹3 lakh, was completely damaged. “It was only because of the new system of power getting tripped within a fraction of seconds after the vehicle hit the transformer, a major accident was averted. Otherwise, there is a possibility of the tanker getting engulfed in fire,” Assistant Divisional Engineer K.R. Shanmugam said.
The officials led by Divisional Engineer Malarvizhi took up restoration works.
