WATCH: Mum and baby run for life as garbage truck crashes into power lines
A young mother walking down a street in Sydney’s inner west had to run for cover with her baby after a garbage truck caused live power lines to snap and fall on the road.
The lid on top of the truck was left open by mistake as the driver made the rounds through Five Dock about midday on Wednesday.
The cover, which is controlled with hydraulics, first crashed into low-hanging tree branches before striking power lines as the vehicle rounded a bend.
Witness Reggi Jash watched the incident unfold: "First he ran into the tree and then I thought he was going to stop but he kept going and then collected the power poles and the power lines in the corner,” he said.
The power lines came crashing down on to the street, with the live wires narrowly missing mum Lil Bentwitch and her husband, who were out for a walk with their baby boy Rocky.
"We thought it was just a car backfiring or something and kind of looked around and heard some screams and then my husband just said 'run',” Ms Bentwitch said.
Terrified, she ran and took shelter with Rocky underneath the staircase of a nearby building.
"Pretty scary I think, afterwards we were just walking along I was a bit shaken and a bit emotional,” she said.
Another witness said he heard “a bit of a zap” as the lines snapped, but noted that the situation could have been much worse.
The driver of the truck and his passenger were trapped inside the vehicle, but the downed power lines made it too dangerous for witnesses to help.
They had to stand back and wait until emergency services and electricity workers arrived to get them out safely.
"Main thing is no one got hurt today and everyone's going to be ok,” bystander Paula Santaglio said.
