A gas leak that shut down Troy Street for about an hour Wednesday is believed to have been caused by a lawn mower that hit a gas meter.
Dayton police shut down Troy Street, from Leonhard Street to Edmund Street, at about 5:20 p.m. on a report of a leaking meter in front of La Michoacana market and restaurant, 748 Troy.
"We believe a lawn mower or something like that hit it and cracked the pipe," Dayton Fire District Chief Rennes Bowers said. "It kind of appears that way because the grass is freshly mowed and the pipe is cracked right there at the regulator."
He said the fire department would not try to find whoever was mowing and hit the meter.
"I'm sure it was an accident," Bowers said.
He called it "a major gas leak in this situation" that didn't become a major problem because a strong wind helped to dissipate the gas, the odor of which was heavily evident throughout the neighborhood.
Police and Dayton fire crews evacuated the business and asked some of the people in the neighborhood of residences and businesses to stay in their homes. As many as four businesses were evacuated.
Juana Espilo, owner of Juana's Design Hair Salon, was one of the businesses evacuated.
"It smelled really bad," she said. "We had a few customers, but they had to leave."
A Vectren worker with the crew that was sent to the scene said the problem was likely a faulty valve on a gas meter.
Natalie Hedde, manager of corporate communications, said the crew shut off the gas service to the market to make repairs on the meter, which feeds into the market. No other customers are affected.
The valve should be rebuilt by Thursday morning, Hedde said, and the business should be able to reopen by then.
Troy street was reopened at about 6:14 p.m.
There were no injuries.
