(NationRise.com) – A power line collapsed on a parked vehicle in the northern area of Portland, Oregon, on January 17, injuring a baby and killing three people. The accident took place during an ice storm, with local authorities reporting some other accidents on the city’s main roads and highways.
According to a statement from Portland’s fire department, dispatchers received numerous calls about a downed power line and people who were electrocuted by it. The department added that a branch had fallen on one of the power lines, causing it to collapse onto an SUV. It also pointed out that a resident took the baby out of the vehicle in a bid to save his life, noting that the three people who were killed in the accident were a teenager and two adults. The city’s fire department added that the baby was immediately taken to a hospital and said that the victims were already dead when firefighters arrived at the scene.
On the same day of the accident, a large swath of Portland’s northern region was under warnings for as much as 2.5 centimeters of ice, with experts saying it intensified the damage created by last weekend’s storm. The warning area was eventually reduced to parts of northwest Oregon and southwest Washington.
In a statement, the National Weather Service said that freezing rain could affect the region over the next few weeks, pointing out that the areas most likely to be impacted would be the Western Columbia River Gorge and eastern Portland. On January 18, city transportation officials asked Portland citizens to stay off the roads, with numerous school districts canceling classes for a second straight day as city roads and highways remained slick.
On social media, experts said that power lines falling into vehicles are not that uncommon during powerful storms. Some of them noted that the best things to do in this type of situation are to stay inside the vehicle, call 911, and prevent moving the power line.
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