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MARTINS FERRY - A semitruck hit a fire hydrant on South Zane Highway while turning onto Grant Avenue in Martins Ferry, resulting in water service being shut off for the entire city.
The incident occurred at 7 a.m. Tuesday and was captured on video by a witness. City officials confirmed at 9:15 p.m. that water service had been restored.
"His trailer ended up catching the fire hydrant and tearing it off. It also broke the valve down at the bottom of it which led to them having to shut the water down," Police Chief Vincent West said. "There was a witness to it, and he was able to catch it on his cell phone because the truck then left the scene. He was found and charged."
He added that Ahmad Mageed of Arizona was cited for leaving the scene of the wreck.
West said Mageed has been summoned to appear before Belmont County Northern Division Court Judge Adam Myser on Aug. 19.
"It was just a single truck incident. He realized he couldn’t make that turn, and backed up and claimed he didn’t know that he hit it and left the scene," West said.
West added that he spoke to Water Superintendent Dan Neavin, who said there currently is no known timeline for when the water will be turned back on in the city.
"They're going to find the bottom of the pipe and cap it off so that they can turn the water back on, and then set up a date and time for when they can relocate it off that corner. So hopefully that doesn’t happen again," West said. "But we don’t know when the water will be turned back on."
He added that once the water is turned back on, there will be a 48-hour boil order for all residents.
West said the city is continuing to work on solving the issue and water will be restored as soon as possible.