Action Jackson: Homeowner left with bill after delivery truck rips down powerlines

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Homeowners on Teal Street in Baton Rouge say it’s normally pretty quiet, but that was not the case for these homeowners one morning in November 2020.

“I heard a loud boom and I came to the door,” explained Crystal Coleman.

Crystal Coleman says walked out to see a delivery truck tangled in power lines outside her home.

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“He pulled the utility poles which is located in my front yard, and it took down all of the power wires as well as the wires that run all the way down to highway 19. It took the weather head off of my house and the wires as well as a house two doors down,” said Coleman.

She says Entergy told her she would have to fix the weather head - the point where the lines go into your house - before they could restore power. She immediately filed a complaint with R and L Carriers.

“They said go ahead and mitigate whatever you need to get done to get your services back on and we apologize and we’re going to do whatever we need to do to reimburse whoever that electrician is if they are willing to be paid at a later date,” said Coleman.

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Coleman found an electrician to do the work, totaling nearly $700. Soon after,  she says she received this letter from the truck company denying her claim.

“They told me they were not liable because the power lines are too low on my street,” said Coleman.

She then went to Entergy, but they denied responsibility... citing the truck was too large to be on a residential street.

“The electrician is pretty much threatening me with an attorney, so it wasn’t my fault and I’m not responsible for that bill, and I should not be responsible for that bill.”

Entergy maintains their stance that the truck was in a restricted area but has not provided where that determination came from. A representative also claims the truck pulled down other utility lines lower than the energy line.  The East Baton Rouge city-parish for local guidelines. vehicles over 7.5 tons on non-truck routes with exclusions for school buses and local pickup and delivery.

Action has reached back out to R and L carriers to find out the truck’s weight and is awaiting a response. The public service commission, which oversees utility companies. They have offered to help Coleman resolve the situation.

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