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A semi-truck hit a utility pole at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night, April 26, in Altamont at the end of Whipple Way near where Maple Avenue and Bozenkill Road intersect, according to Tyler Pentak, 16, who lives at the end of Maple Avenue Extension. “I was in my bedroom and all of a sudden heard a loud bang,” Pentak recounts. “I felt the house shake and the lights flickered a few times. I see an old semi-truck slowing to a stop out my window. The driver climbs out and starts to raise the remaining piece of the trailer still attached to the truck. I went out with my camera, and joined many neighbors and I was awestruck.” Altamont Police Chief Jason Johnston told The Enterprise on Thursday that the truck suffered a “mechanical issue” as the driver tried to turn from Bozenkill to Maple Avenue Extension and “went over a sinkhole and the trailer became detached.” Calling the accident “routine,” Johnston said, “No one was ticketed; damage was minimal.” National Grid arrived at the scene because the utility pole was hit, Johnston said. [Photo by Tyler Pentak]