Over 20 students on board bus trapped by power lines
By Heather Leah
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HARNETT COUNTY, North Carolina (WRAL) — A school bus was surrounded by live power lines, with a large tree blocking the roadway ahead and burning fire along the roadside in Harnett County around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
The school bus, which is numbered 226, was from Harnett Central High School, according to the school system’s PIO. It was trapped on Chalybeate Springs Road near Hwy. 401.
There were 24 students on the bus at the time of the blockage, but officials say everyone is fine. The school district sent another bus to help with transportation of the students.
WRAL’s Sky 5 flew over the scene, where it appeared as if the tree had fallen, knocking over power lines and possibly sparking the fire. Smoke could be seen filling the air.
Jeff Brooks with Duke Energy says, “From what I have found out, we have a tree that somehow fell onto our power line and took down several spans of line. It does appear that one of the lines may have fallen on or around the school bus, but I don’t have any other detail,”
He said he wasn’t sure why the tree fell in the first place.
About 140 customers are now without power, with an estimated repair time of11:00 p.m. Brooks says the line was already out of service when it fell, from his understanding.
A nearby truck was also trapped, with power lines laying overtop its roof.
A fire truck was already on the scene as of 4:45 p.m. Investigators are working to determine what caused the power lines and tree to fall. Officials say the bus was not involved in an accident, but was simply trapped by the lines.
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