photo by Jack Latta

Prestonsburg police and firefighters were at the scene of the downed lines to close the roads and keep passersby away.

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PRESTONSBURG — The driver of a Dayton Freight tractor-trailer attempting to go up Post Office Hill in Prestonsburg knocked out telephone and internet service to a wide area of downtown, as well as electric service to some customers, after the top of his rig pulled down utility lines between the Tourism Office and Jimmy Webb’s law practice.

The incident occurred shortly after 2:30 p.m., Friday.

Prestonsburg police and fire units were immediately dispatched to the scene to close Court Street and South Central Avenue immediately around the downed lines and to keep passersby away from the downed lines.

Crews from Kentucky Power and AT&T were at the scene working to fix the lines. A electric worker at the scene predicted the electric line would be restored by 6 p.m.

Phone workers, however, said the wait for phone and internet service could be awhile longer. First, they had to wait for electric workers to finish their jobs before they could begin. And with dark clouds moving in over the city, they said rain could slow them down, while thunder and lightning would shut them down completely.

An AT&T worker at the scene predicted it would be “hours” before phone and internet service was restored, perhaps as late as Saturday morning.

The Floyd County Times office was in the outage area. While the paper had electricity, it did not have phone or internet service.