Trucker mows down two poles, arrested for DUI

A telephone pole is wedged beneath a truck in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, after an allegedly intoxicated driver attempted a right turn. (Image Courtesy of City of Duquesne Police Department)A telephone pole is wedged beneath a truck in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, after an allegedly intoxicated driver attempted a right turn. (Image Courtesy of City of Duquesne Police Department)

A 57-year-old Rhode Island trucker was arrested Monday, Aug. 5 in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, for driving under the influence after he knocked down two telephone poles.

According to the City of Duquesne Police Department, the unnamed driver was driving along SR 837 southbound when he drove over a telephone pole at the intersection of Grant Avenue, sending the pole and the live wires to the ground. The trucker continued driving up Grant Avenue and took down another telephone pole while attempting a right turn at Duquesne Plaza. The pole with live wires came to rest on top of the truck and along the sidewalk.

Officers responding to the scene noticed the smell of alcohol on the driver’s breath and conducted field sobriety tests, which the driver “failed miserably,” according to police. He was then arrested for DUI. Police found an open bottle of alcohol and several empty bottles in the truck’s cab.

A two-block section of Grant Avenue was closed for two hours while the fallen poles and lines were cleared.