(Kim Tunnicliffe/WBZ NewsRadio 1030)
NORTHBRIDGE (WBZ-AM) -- A cup of coffee is to blame for a tanker truck accident in Northbridge. Police say a truck driver spilled his coffee while behind the wheel of the gas tanker around 5:30 a.m. Monday.
With the driver distracted, the rig then crashed into a utility pole on Linwood Avenue, spilled down an embankment, and slammed into two parked cars. No injuries were reported, but crews had to clean up about a hundred gallons of fuel and repair the fallen power lines.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe reported that the truck narrowly missed a house. The entire area around Linwood Avenue was closed to traffic while an empty tanker was brought in while HAZMAT crews offloaded the leaking fuel.
One neighbor said he heard the crash, describing a "big loud bang."
"I was sitting on my front porch and I seen a big gas truck off in the ditch," he said. "Dude got out of the truck, walked away, he was fine."
Police Lieutenant Timothy LaBrie said neighbors in the area are without power.
"National Grid is involved also because there is a pole down," he said. "They had to cut power before they could even start this process."
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WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe reports