Sentinel staff report–
Citrus Heights police said a driver involved in a collision Wednesday that resulted in more than 16,000 residents losing power was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.
Police Lt. Michael Wells said in an email Thursday afternoon that the collision involved two vehicles traveling on Sunrise Boulevard at Larwin Drive, with one of the vehicles striking a utility pole. He said the one driver was charged with DUI and taken to the hospital with minor injuries, while the other driver was uninjured.
Wells said a separate collision on Antelope Road and Lauppe Lane involving another utility pole also occurred about 15 minutes prior to the collision on Sunrise Boulevard. He said that incident also involved a pair of vehicles colliding, with one vehicle striking a utility pole. No injuries were reported.
Prior story: 16,000 lose power Wednesday night in Citrus Heights
As previously reported, thousands of residents lost power around 7:45 p.m. on March 10, with power restored by 8:40 p.m. SMUD tweeted Wednesday night that the outage had been caused by a “car/pole accident” in Citrus Heights.
SMUD crews and Citrus Heights police units could be seen in the area of Sunrise Boulevard and Larwin Drive, with police blocking off a section of northbound Sunrise Boulevard between Larwin and Woodmore Oaks Drive. Wires and a severed pole could be seen dangling along the roadway, and a four-door sedan with significant front end damage was observed nearby on the side of the road.
According to SMUD’s online outage map, a total of 16,946 customers lost power during the outage. Businesses at Sunrise Boulevard and Antelope Road could be seen completely dark during the outage, with only traffic signal lights working at the intersection.
