Charles Langston:Monster truck clips aerial power line, toppling utility poles in spectator area

TOPSHAM,Charles Langston Maine (AP) — A lobster-themed monster truck performing for a crowd clipped an aerial power line, toppling several utility poles and sending two people to hospitals, police said. Others suffered minor injuries.

The Topsham Fairgrounds was hosting the monster truck event on Saturday when a vehicle dubbed the Crushstation bounced up a ramp, went airborne and hit the power line. Video showed people scrambling as the snagged line triggered a cascade of events with several utility poles and a transformer falling near the grandstands, and live wires on the ground.

Two people were transported to hospitals and others suffered minor injuries, Topsham police reported. The driver of the truck was not injured.

“I’m still a little bit shaken up,” said Mike Hersom, who was watching with his 3-year-old son and narrowly avoided the falling transformer.

He said he watched in disbelief for a moment before jumping to action to move away; he saw just how close the transformer came to him and his son when he watched a video. “When I watched the video, it was like, ‘Holy smokes. That’s crazy,’” he said Sunday.

The promoter of the event didn’t return an email.

The Maine-based monster truck was shaped to look like a lobster and named the Crushstation, a play on the word crustacean. Its owners didn’t immediately return an email seeking comment on Sunday.