Collision of Garbage Trucks Injures 1 Person, Knocks Out Power in Parts of Little Village

CHICAGO, IL — At least one person was hurt Wednesday morning after an accident involving two garbage trucks knocked down a 12,000-volt power line in the Little Village neighborhood, causing power outages in the area, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

The driver of one of the trucks was injured when the vehicles collided into each other. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and was in good condition, according to the department.

The accident happened at around 11:25 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, near 31st Street and Drake Avenue, overturning both Department of Streets and Sanitation trucks and knocking down a power line. That damage caused an electrical outage that affected more than 1,500 customers Wednesday afternoon in the area of the crash, according to Com.Ed.

The Leighton Criminal Court Building, 2650 S. California Ave., was affected by the outages for a few hours, forcing some court proceedings to be moved because the building's elevators didn't work, the Chicago Tribune reports. Power company crews were working through the afternoon to restore electricity to the affected areas, the report added.

At about noon, cleanup crews had put both vehicle upright, but the rear of one truck was still up in the air hitting a power line, the fire department said. The city is still investigating the incident to determine the cause of the collision, the Tribune reports.

UPDATED (2:54 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26)

photo via Shutterstock

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