Truck hits wires near U-Store

University Public Safety officers shut down University Place for several hours yesterday afternoon after a delivery truck pulled down telephone and electricity wires and bent a utility pole at the intersection of University Place and Edwards Place, Princeton Borough Chief of Police Charles Duvall said.

Public Service Electric & Gas workers planned to replace the utility pole last night, temporarily shutting off power to all residences on Edwards Place, said Jeff Dohanic, a PSE&G employee who responded to the scene.

At about 4 p.m. yesterday, the driver mistook a handicap ramp in the U-Store parking lot for an entryway to the lot, consequently jumping the curb and getting entangled in electricity and Bell Atlantic telephone wires, Dohanic said. The wires then pulled the utility pole down.

Dohanic added the driver was trapped in the cab of the truck for about 45 minutes until the live power lines on the ground could be cleared. Though much of the roof of the truck was peeled off, Dohanic said the driver eventually left the scene unharmed.

The PSE&G truck arrived at the scene shortly after 5 p.m., while en route to a power outage at the Princeton Shopping Center on Harrison Street, Dohanic said.

"We happened to go by when we saw the police and fire vehicles already at the scene," Dohanic said. "We're now in the process of replacing the pole."

An on-duty manager at the U-Store said the truck was delivering food for U-2, the U-Store's 24-hour convenience store.

The manager added that this was not the first time an individual mistook the parking lot ramp for an entryway to the U-Store; a few months ago, a driver unsuccessfully attempted to pass through the space, only to break off the car's bumper.