Several houses and establishments reportedly lost power supply after a 10-wheeler truck crashed into a utility pole along Ortigas Avenue Extension in Barangay Rosario early Thursday, Feb. 12.

According to initial reports, the driver said the truck’s brakes failed while he was heading to Taytay, Rizal. The truck was loaded with asphalt but did not spill onto the road.

He then steered the vehicle toward the pole across Doña Juliana Street near a gasoline station in an attempt to stop it without putting others at risk. The incident occurred at around 3 a.m.

Due to the impact, the truck's front portion was damaged, and the utility pole along with its wires toppled, which caused the power outage in nearby areas.

No one was injured in the incident, except the truck driver, who reportedly sustained a hand wound and back pain. He was immediately taken to the hospital.

The incident also caused heavy traffic as wires dangled across the road, but vehicles were able to pass after an hour once Meralco personnel cleared the wires.

As of 9:50 a.m., the truck was reportedly still at the scene while Meralco personnel continued clearing debris.

Meralco said power line restoration and the construction of a new pole are still ongoing. They added that only a few customers are expected to remain without electricity out of the 300 initially affected.

“Humihingi kami ng pang-unawa sa abalang dulot ng insidenteng ito at hindi kami titigil ang hangga't hindi naibabalik ang normal na serbisyo ng kuryente sa mga apektadong customer, at naaayos ang lahat ng apektadong pasilidad (We ask for understanding regarding the inconvenience caused by this incident and assure the public that efforts will continue until power service is fully restored to affected customers and all damaged facilities are repaired),” it said.