Two workers were injured early Friday when a sanitation truck lost control and barreled down a steep Tamaqua hill, snapping off a utility pole and crashing into trees near the bottom.

The incident took place on the steep, winding Snake Hill section of East Elm Street. According to those at the scene, the Tamaqua Transfer municipal waste truck was on its regular route picking up trash when something went wrong, sending the large truck down the steep roadway, through a snowbank and into woods, coming to rest against a tree.One of the injured, Matt Moyer of Tamaqua, returned to the scene after he and an unnamed worker were treated at St. Luke’s Hospital-Miners Campus in Coaldale, where they had been taken by Tamaqua Community Ambulance.Moyer said both he and the other worker suffered neck and back pain. Moyer said they had been picking up garbage in an alley near the top of the hill, and he is uncertain as to the cause of the 6:30 a.m. crash. Before coming to rest against a tree, the truck snapped a utility pole near the intersection of Market Street. If the truck hadn’t ended up in the woods, it could have hit cars and houses at the bottom of East Elm Street or even ended up in the Little Schuylkill River.“I won’t let my children play out here on this sidewalk,” said a worried father whose house is situated at the bottom of the hill. “We worry about this every time there’s snow and ice.” Eight utility bucket trucks and other PPL vehicles were at the scene throughout the day Friday. East Elm Street remains closed from Schuylkill Avenue to Market Street and it is unclear when the road will be reopened. The crash is being investigated by Tamaqua police.