Power poles collapse onto cars, spark fire and outages in Coney Island
CONEY ISLAND, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Two utility poles collapsed onto parked cars in Coney Island on Wednesday morning, sparking a fire, crushing multiple vehicles and leaving hundreds of customers without power.
The incident happened shortly after 7 a.m. near West 36th Street and Surf Avenue.
Video from the scene showed thick smoke billowing into the air as firefighters battled flames that erupted after the poles came crashing down.
One fallen pole landed on top of a vehicle, crushing cars beneath it, while a transformer was seen resting on another parked car farther down West 36th Street. Several vehicles caught fire in the immediate aftermath of the collapse.
No injuries were reported. However, the outage left 900 customers without electricity as temperatures climbed and windy conditions persisted across the area.
By midday, the number of customers without power had dropped to 300. Power was restored to a critical care facility and a school by 9:30 a.m.
It remains unclear what caused the poles to fall.
Con Edison crews responded to the scene, and a portion of West 36th Street remained closed as crews worked to make repairs and investigate the incident.
The NYPD said four vehicles were damaged and one exploded, resulting in property damage.
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