Article: Live cables set crashed vehicle on fire
Live cables set crashed vehicle on fire
P&J: Published: 08/07/2010
Lorry sheds load of logs in dramatic incident south of Invermoriston
A lorry driver managed to scramble out of his cab after a dramatic crash which brought down power cables and set his overturned wagon on fire.
Motorists travelling behind Alistair Macdonald’s truck saw a blue flash after it veered off the A82 Inverness to Fort William road and knocked over an electricity pole yesterday.
The vehicle landed on its side and was set alight by the live cables, but the 40-year-old managed to get out and was left uninjured.
He said: “I feel fortunate, or unfortunate, whatever way you want to look at it.
“Another driver who was travelling behind me said he saw a blue flash just before the cabin caught fire.”
The lorry’s trailer and cab were destroyed by the blaze.
More than 60 homes were left without power for almost two hours.
The road was closed for nine hours, and drivers, including many tourists to the north, faced a diversion of almost 30 miles while the power line was repaired and the truck and its load were cleared.
Self-employed Mr Macdonald, of Braes of Conon, Conon Bridge, near Dingwall, was travelling from Fort Augustus to Invergordon with a load of timber.
The accident happened just south of Invermoriston, on the banks of Loch Ness, at around 7am.
Mr Macdonald said the lorry became unstable after part of the road surface gave way and it shed its load, before colliding with the electricity pole, which was on the opposite side of the road.
Fire crews from Fort Augustus and Drumnadrochit put out the blaze on the lorry.
The burned-out vehicle lay on its side covering both lanes, next to its spilled load of logs, while police officers examined the scene and the road remained closed until 4pm.
Drivers heading to the west were diverted 29 miles via the A887 Invermoriston to Kyle road as far as Bunloinn, where they were directed back on to the A82 via the A87 Kyle to Invergarry road. Drivers heading to Inverness used the same roads.
Constable Tony Hannah said that the lorry was “engulfed by flames” when firefighters arrived.
He said: “We get a lot of accidents on these roads involving heavy-goods vehicles, but none as dra- matic as this one. Fortunately, at the time it happened, there was not too much traffic, though the driver is really shaken up and he is lucky to be alive.
“The whole thing was engulfed by flames and he is lucky that the load of wood was no longer on the trailer.”
No other vehicles were involved in the accident.
Engineers from Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) worked to restore power to homes while the lorry was being recovered.
An SSE spokeswoman said: “Engineers had to get a new pole to site and get it erected, along with re-erecting the wires.”
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published on: 08/07/2010