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Show Mishap knocks out power By KRIS JOHNSON Staff Writer FARMINGTON A mobile home under tow broke loose and slammed into power poles alongside southbound 1-15 near Lagoon, blacking out the lights of four cities Saturday and forcing a massive mas-sive traffic backup. There were no injuries reported in the mishap, but five vehicles were slightly damaged from fallen power lines and half of the double wide mobile home was totaled, Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Jeff Graviet said. The truck, driven by Shan D. Stringfellow, 49, of Bountiful, was pulling a mobile home southbound on U.S. 89 and hit a dip after it attempted to merge into 1-15. The driver felt the rear of the vehicle rise and he pulled over into the emergency lane when the mobile trailer broke loose and collided with the power poles. The errant mobile home knocked one of the power poles out of its hole and severed another, which sent a "live" power line flying onto the freeway. "The driver indicated that he knew the trailer was coming off, and so he tried to get it over to the right of traffic, instead of going into traffic," Graviet said. "He should be commended for the way he handled this situation. You can replace property, but you can't replace lives." Both directions of 1-15 and Lagoon Lane were blocked for an hour while crews from the Farmington Fire Department lifted the downed volt line. The line covered all four lanes and backed traffic for three miles in both directions, the UHP said. Union Pacific trains, which run alongside the freeway, were also detained during the mishap because some of the power lines fell on the tracks. Repair crews pulled together in a combined effort which involved the Davis County Sheriffs office, the UHP, the Farmington Fire Department and police officers offi-cers from Centerville, Farmington and Bountiful. "It was the quick response of Davis County's emergency crews that saved lives," said Graviet, adding ad-ding that it was a major task to shut down the freeway and some of its surrounding exits to keep cars away from the sparking power lines. The accident knocked out power at 8:55 a.m. to most of Layton, Farmington, Fruit Heights and Kaysville. Power was restored to the area around 1 1 a.m. Utah Power & Light reported an estimated $10,000 in property damages and Union Pacific reported $500 in property damage. However, it has not been estimated ; how much money they lost during the time that they were detained. The mobile home was valued at $22,000. The accident is under investigation. Davis County officials will inspect the truck that pulled the trailer before they decide if any citations will be issued. |