Man who sought shelter in manhole triggers gas leak, road closures, evacuations in Taylor
A man reported to be homeless and panhandling for money thought he'd found free underground shelter in Taylor on Tuesday afternoon.
The fellow lifted a manhole cover, then crawled inside and pulled the heavy iron lid over his head, police said. The man's quirky plan caused a gas leak, triggered the evacuation of two businesses, forced the closure of Telegraph Road at rush hour, and could've been fatal to the homeless man — except that police officers lifted the unconscious man out to fresh air and safety, then sent him to a hospital, Taylor police Lt. Alex Stellini said.
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By about 8:30 p.m., DTE had repaired a leak the man apparently caused, after he squeezed himself below the pavement amid underground valves. By 9 p.m. Telegraph Road was fully reopened to traffic.
"Everything is safe and secure," Stellini said at 9:15 p.m. That concluded a situation that must've initially baffled a 911 operator, hearing a citizen's call at 5:19 p.m. The caller said he'd seen a man "crawling down the ladder into a manhole and replacing the manhole cover over his head," Stellini said.
Upon arrival, things were anything but calm for police. Officers could hear the loud noise of escaping gas coming from the manhole near the corner of Van Born and Telegraph, and smell the gas, after which they viewed a gas station video showing the man's descent into DTE's infrastructure, according to a police news release.
With the odor of natural gas growing strong, police ordered the gas station and an adjacent business evacuated. Next, officers opened the manhole with a pry bar and found "a male who appeared to be homeless and unconscious, and there was a strong odor of natural gas coming from the manhole," a news release said.
"Customers had advised that they have seen the male in the area begging for money and causing issues with customers," according to the news release from the Taylor Police Department.
DTE crews arrived soon after to stop the gas leak. The incident interfered with the commutes of numerous afternoon motorists. Police had closed busy southbound Telegraph from just north of Van Born, and they'd choked off northbound Telegraph at I-94, as well as the eastbound and westbound exits to Telegraph from I-94. In addition, westbound Van Born was closed at Monroe and eastbound Van Born closed at Beech Daly.
Officers decided that there was no need for residents to evacuate homes during the incident, the news release said. With the all-clear signal, police did not reveal the condition of the homeless man -- and whether he was spending a comfortable night in a hospital bed.
Contact Bill Laytner: blaitner@freepress.com