Westar Energy, Emporia/Lyon County Fire personnel and Kansas Turnpike Authority officials all responded to the scene of an electrical line down across the turnpike at mile marker 129 Tuesday afternoon, approximately two miles north of the Emporia tollgate.
Westar Energy spokesperson Gina Penzig confirmed the power line down to KVOE News, initially spanning all four lanes of traffic after construction crews apparently hit the line. The call came in around 3 p.m. Penzig said at one point the power line was actually on top of a truck with an occupant inside. No injuries have been reported and that person was safely removed from the vehicle.
Kansas Turnpike Authority spokesperson Rachel Bell says the power line down was in an area where there’s been a lane closure for construction work and no longer directly affecting traffic, although traffic was slowed down due to the added emergency traffic in that area.
According to the Westar Energy outage map, at least eight customers were without power.
