A man landed in the hospital on Monday morning when an underground explosion near Prospect Park sent a manhole cover crashing into his head, according to witnesses and officials.
The blast shattered windows in nearby buildings and hurled the heavy iron cover into the man’s skull as he walked his dog on Prospect Park West between Fourth and Fifth streets shortly before 11:30 am, witnesses said.
The injured man’s dog, a black lab named Abbey, ran off into the park with a leash trailing behind.
Responders transported the man to Lutheran Medical Center with “minor injuries,” according to a Fire Department Spokesman.
Sean Casey Animal Rescue, a local animal shelter, found the pooch wandering in the park and linked it to its injured owner using its microchip, according to shelter’s Facebook page.
A tenant in a nearby building suffered lacerations from broken glass but did not need to go to the hospital, according to the landlord of the building. Four of his buildings lost windows in the blast, he said.
Firefighters were already in the area responding to reports of smoke rising from the street several blocks away when the manhole blew its top, sending flames shooting nine feet into the air, according to first responders on the scene.
The explosion was most likely caused by water, salty from de-icing efforts, leaking into underground electrical infrastructure, according to a Con Edison representative.
“What happens is when they use salt to treat the roads, the salt gets into the electrical system and it is a bad combination,” said Sydney Alvarez, a spokesman for the utility giant.
— with Elizabeth Graham
