MT. VERNON — This week is National Teen Driver Safety Week, and Ameren Illinois is reminding everyone about what they need to do if their vehicle ever comes into contact with a power line.

Ron Pate is the Senior Vice President for Operations and Technical Services for Ameren. He says as unlikely as it can be, a Central Illinois teen faced this situation during a strong storm, and is lucky to be alive after the incident.

Pate says if your car comes into contact with power lines, you should always assume the lines are live. He says you should not leave your vehicle unless you notice that your car is smoking or on fire. If that would be the case, you should jump out with both feet together and without touching the car and the ground at the same time, and then shuffle or bunny hop away from the car keeping your feet together.