A truck driver in British Columbia, Canada told local police that he crashed his truck because he was distracted while “trying to plug in his phone charger.”
The accident happened around 5:15 a.m. on Monday morning, in Abbotsford, B.C.
While the driver was distracted, the truck veered off the road and crashed into a powerpole, causing the trailer to overturn. The truck’s load of lumber spilled onto Huntingdon Road.
Distracted driving strikes again. No one injured but this main road through town will be shut down for most of the day. pic.twitter.com/LyX6EBdXza
— Cst Pat Kelly APD (@CstKelly) November 28, 2016
Because the accident happened around 5 a.m. the road was empty and no one else was involved. Officials say if the crash happened around 8 a.m. many vehicles could have been involved, as the road generally experiences a high amount of rush-hour traffic.
The road was closed for nearly 8 hours for cleanup, but has since reopened.
“At the end of the day he’s holding a charger connected to his cellphone, he’s not concentrating on the road, and now you’ve probably got what will be up to a $30,000 bill on top of his distracted driving ticket,” Constable Ian MacDonald said.
MacDonald said the incident should serve as a reminder that there are many ways that a driver can become distracted while behind the wheel.