CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- No one was hurt but thousands were without power after a power line struck a crane in the SouthPark area on Friday morning.
The incident happened around 11 a.m. in the 1800 block of Carmel Road near Fairview Road
An electricity truck caught fire just behind the baseball field at Charlotte Country Day School.
Neighbor Jeff Faulkner watched the fire from his back porch and worried about the operator. Even though he got blown off his feet he was not seriously injured.
"It was pretty intense. We didn't know if it was going to explode or what was going to happen with the truck, but the tires were burning pretty good," said Faulkner.
As a result of the incident, 2,200 people in the area were without power for about three hours, according to Duke Energy. That included the school nearby.
"The lights went out at 11:45. We didn't know what was going on, but we saw the helicopters flying above and we came out. They told us we couldn't leave for lunch," said Eddie Mansius, a CCDS student.
Carmel Road was shutdown while crews worked to clear the area, but the northbound lanes reopened at 2 p.m. Southbound lanes will be closed until later Friday night.
One person was hurt, according to the Charlotte Fire Department, but the victim was not transported to the hospital.
Even though the school was in the dark, parents like Karen Owensby was convinced that teachers were doing their best.
"They said the teachers were still teaching in the dark," said Owensby.
