SEPTA passengers get fallen wire scare

Passengers on a SEPTA trackless trolley suffered a brief scare when overhead electrical lines fell onto the vehicle Monday afternoon in Northeast Philadelphia, officials said.

Four blocks of overhead wires were knocked down, said SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch.

About 3:10 p.m. the Route 66 trackless trolley was on Frankford Avenue at Harbison Avenue when a truck crossing the intersection knocked down the wires powering the SEPTA vehicle, said passenger Walter Hansley, 54.

The driver yelled "Don't move! Don't move! Don't touch nothing metal!" Hansley recalled.

About a half-dozen passengers stayed on the trolley for about five minutes, He said. When the passengers complained about being trapped on the trolley, the driver let them out, but advised then "to jump off" so as not to touch anything, Hansley said.

Busch said that overhead wires also came down on other vehicles on Frankford Avenue. One minor injury was reported, he said.

Accidents such as this are monitored by SEPTA's control center and the section of wire is quickly turned off, Busch said.

As of 6:30 p.m., work crews were still on the scene and traffic was snarled in the area.