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Sunday, July 19, 2026 at 3:13 AM

The night the lights went out in Hacklebarney

The night the lights went out in Hacklebarney
But our flag was still there! Mary Simpson’s flag still flies proudly, but her home has taken a beating from the runaway trailer that caused the April 9 power outage in the Hacklebarney area. Picture by Greg O’Driscoll

Simpson thankful to be alive after freak accident to her home

Around 11 p.m. April 9 in the Whitney Lakes area of Hacklebarney Road everyone experienced a power outage, but only one resident was shaken by a loud boom that rattled their home. A trailer came loose from the vehicle towing it and clipped a power pole before smashing into that resident’s home, though it was a moment before they realized it.

Mary Simpson of 5219 Hacklebarney Road got a shock when her house suddenly vibrated. The impact was powerful enough to almost knock her off the couch and items fell from the wall in her bathroom. Between the boom of the impact and the flash of sparks outside, then a second boom she now thinks was the top of the power pole landing in the road, Simpson thought a powerful thunderstorm or something worse had rolled in without her realizing it. Checking the weather on her phone and seeing nothing of the kind, she went outside.

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