TOPSHAM, Maine (AP) — A lobster-themed monster truck performing in front of a crowd clipped an overhead power line, toppling several utility poles and sending two people to the hospital, police said. Others were slightly injured.
Topsham Showgrounds was hosting the Monster Truck event on Saturday when a vehicle nicknamed Crushstation bounced off a ramp, went airborne and hit the power line. The video showed people rushing as the snagged line triggered a cascade of events with several utility poles and a transformer falling near the stands, as well as live wires to the ground.
Two people were transported to hospitals and others suffered minor injuries, Topsham police reported. The truck driver was not injured.
“I’m still a little shaken up,” said Mike Hersom, who watched with his 3-year-old son and narrowly avoided the falling transformer.
He said he watched in disbelief for a moment before taking action to walk away; he saw how close the Transformer was to him and his son when he watched a video. “When I watched the video, it was like, ‘Holy smokes.’ It’s crazy,” he said on Sunday.
The event promoter did not respond to the email.
The Maine-based monster truck was shaped to resemble a lobster and was named Crushstation, a pun on the word crustacean. Its owners did not immediately return an email seeking comment Sunday.