Lights Out: Garbage truck Rips through Powerline, Stops Business as Usual.

By  Todd Yamashita

With a loud pop, businesses along Kaunakakai’s main strip were suddenly put on pause as an Island Refuse garbage truck ripped through utility lines with its raised forks. As store owners and their patrons poured onto the street to see what happened, police shut down the streets and utility crews hurried to restore power.

 “And I only get 18 days to retire,” commented Molokai Electric employee “Bu” Delacruz who initially handled the downed lines. Though much of the incident appeared to have taken place at the corner of Kalama’s service station, authorities were puzzled by another line that fell on a car at the main intersection near Bank of Hawaii. The police suspected the truck’s raised forks again, however it was pointed out by Island Refuse employees that the line in question was probably too high to have been reached by the truck. Witnesses near Takes Variety Store and Masaki’s said that they heard a loud pop and that nearby utility poles were seen bowed and wobbling. A few people at the scene speculated that the stress caused from the incident at Kalama’s created a “chain reaction” breaking the power line near the main intersection.

No one was hurt during last week’s occurrence. The truck driver, Denny Kaneshiro, was unaware that the forks of his trucks were raised. He sincerely apologizes to store owners and patrons for the inconveniences caused by the incident.