Truck knocks out power in cold

It was rough day in south Greenacres Tuesday.

Just after 1 p.m., a box truck knocked down a power pole and almost plowed into a home before coming to a stop in a yard on South Flora Road.

No one was hurt. But the stoplight at Flora and Sprague Avenue was out briefly, and Avista spokeswoman Debbie Simock said 73 homes were expected to be without electricity for several hours.

One of those customers was Ben Benthien, who consequently fired up a wood stove to warm up his home on East Coach Drive.

“All of the sudden I started smelling smoke,” he said.

A chimney fire developed in his ceiling, he said.

By the time firefighters subdued the flames in his living room about 5 p.m., the fire had left a gaping hole in the roof.

Only he and his dog, Molly, were home at the time, and no one was hurt, Benthien said.

Sitting with the dog in his truck next to a throng of fire engines, Benthien’s tone was remarkably optimistic.

He said he has insurance and that the damage can be fixed.

About 40 years ago, the retired police officer rebuilt from a worse house fire when living in Kirkland, Wash., he said.

He also turned down an offer to stay at his daughter’s place in Elk on Tuesday night, preferring instead to sleep in his camping trailer next to the manufactured home.

As the smoke began to clear in the neighborhood, Avista workers were hoisting a new power pole into place, one block away.

“The driver was not sure what happened,” Sheriff’s Deputy Joe Bonin said after the accident.

The truck was heading south when it veered off the road at the 200 block of South Flora.

Robert Hartnett was driving the truck for Good Samaritan Village and likely passed out before the crash, Bonin said.

Police do not believe alcohol or drugs were involved. Hartnett was cited for “driving with wheels off roadway,” Bonin said.