NASHVILLE, Tenn -- Neighbors Sandra Williams and Leslie Jones heard a series of pops and saw smoke coming from the power lines into their houses after they said a trucker drove into the power lines to their duplex.

The two Hermitage families said that Oct. 30, Jones was having a load of furniture delivered to her home on Hidden Hills Drive. She said she warned the driver to stop because he was about to run into the overhead power lines. He didn't heed her warning.

The current that surged into the Joneses' home knocked out the TV and dishwasher and left charred marks on the side of the house.

The Williamses' home has black marks in the basement where the electrical wires are stapled to the studs.

Williams lifted a bundle of damaged TV cable and said it melted in the power surge. Pieces of the wire's plastic coating are hanging in shards.

"We could have been killed," said Williams, whos son put out the flames on the side of the house with a fire extinguisher. "We're the innocent victims. Someone needs to pay for this damage."

Both families said they're frustrated because the trucking company won't pay for the damages.

According to the adjuster for the trucking line, the driver was not negligent because the power line was too low. The adjuster said the truck is 13 feet 5 inches high, yet Nashville Electric Service is supposed to hang the power lines at least 15 feet off the ground.

An NES representative said power lines sometimes sag due to hot weather. NES paid to reconnect power into the Joneses' home but said it isn't accepting responsibility nor assuming liability for any other damages.