A NAMBUCCA Heads local has shared his experience of being in the near vicinity when two power poles collapsed on Nelson Street last Thursday, branding it a “lucky escape”.
Rory Kaine was travelling down the road past the Nambucca RSL Club at about 5pm.
“I was driving down the hill and the telegraph pole ‘snaps’ off in front of me, like it was detonated in a sequence,” Mr Kaine said.
“I stopped easily enough within 15 metres of the fallen pole.
“In that split second, I realised that another pole had come down first, then brought the next one with it.”
Looking down the hill, Mr Kaine said he saw a white car that appeared to have escaped the first pole.
The driver was David Craig, the Scottish head chef from the RSL.
“He told me that he braked then accelerated to avoid the disaster,” Mr Kaine said.
“He copped some car damage from the falling wires or lights.
“He also copped the trauma of such a near miss.”
The fallen poles caused power outages, bringing forward a planned outage for Nambucca Heads that evening at 10pm.
“The workmen worked overnight to replace one telegraph pole and power by Friday morning,” Mr Kaine said.
“Photos (from the scene) show a hollow pole. How many more hollow poles are there?”
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