Car collision breaks utility pole, knocks out power

A car hit a utility pole cable on South Jefferson Circle on Sunday night, breaking the pole and knocking out power to about 690 customers, a city official said Monday.

The customers who lost power after the 7:45 p.m. accident were located along Louisiana Avenue and its side streets, Oak Ridge Electric Director Jack Suggs said. He said temporary repairs were made, and power was fully restored at about 9:15 p.m.

Suggs said the car left the roadway—it wasn’t clear whether it had been on Oak Ridge Turnpike or South Jefferson Circle—and struck a guy wire that holds up a pole near Weatherford Mortuary. The pole broke and split down the middle.

“Emergency responders arrived at the scene and secured it until personnel from the power company could be called in and respond,” Suggs said.

The driver was reportedly taken by ambulance to Methodist Medical Center with what appeared to be minor injuries.

City workers used a utility truck to hold the pole in place through Sunday night.

Suggs said crews planned to replace the pole today. Suggs said he didn’t expect many outages, if any, while the pole is changed.

“Although the ever present possibility of a power outage becomes even greater when lines are being repaired, we anticipate that we will be able to notify all customers affected individually,” Suggs said.