A utility vehicle from SMUD leaves the scene of a collision involving a power pole Wednesday night on Sunrise Boulevard. // CH Sentinel
Sentinel staff report–
Thousands lost power in Citrus Heights Wednesday night, leaving residents and businesses without electricity for about an hour while utility crews restored power.
Residents lost power around 7:45 p.m. 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.
Police and firefighters gather near a CHPD vehicle at the scene of a power pole collision Tuesday night, after apprehending a driver who was reportedly fleeing the scene. // CH Sentinel
Citrus Heights police said a 26-year-old was arrested after he crashed his vehicle into a power pole on Antelope Road late Tuesday and then tried to flee the scene. The collision resulted in thousands of homes in the area temporarily losing power for up to three hours.
In an email statement to The Sentinel late Wednesday, Officer Wesley Herman said police responded to a reported solo-vehicle collision with a power pole on the 7000 block of Antelope Road around 11:30 p.m., with responding officers finding the driver of the vehicle “fleeing from the scene of the accident.”
Herman said the driver was “actively defiant with officers during their instructions, but was eventually detained.”
The driver, identified by police as Andrew Tolbert of Sacramento, was subsequently arrested for DUI, hit-and-run collision, “resisting/delaying/obstructing a public officer,” and violating probation, according to Officer Herman. Police said Tolbert was on probation for domestic battery, resisting arrest, burglary, and several other offenses.
After police said he was “medically cleared,” Tolbert was taken to the Sacramento County main jail. Herman said the driver “sustained minor superficial wounds during the time he was resisting arrest.”
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According to SMUD’s online outage map, more than 16,000 customers in the Citrus Heights area lost power at 11:33 p.m. on Tuesday, apparently from the collision. A SMUD truck arrived shortly after midnight and could be seen shining a light on the pole, which was leaning over towards Antelope Road, although still mostly upright.
Residents on Mariposa Avenue and some other areas reported having their power restored by around 12:20 a.m. Wednesday, and most others had power back on by 2:30 a.m., according to SMUD’s website.
Police and fire personnel respond to the scene after a vehicle reportedly collided with a power pole on Antelope Road near Auburn Boulevard, Tuesday night. // CH Sentinel
Updated March 9, 8:08 p.m.–
A car reportedly collided with a power pole on Antelope Road near Auburn Boulevard shortly after 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, causing power to go out in thousands of homes in the surrounding area.
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Resident Julia McGinnis arrived at the scene shortly after the incident and said she saw a man being tackled to the ground by several police officers, apparently after he tried to flee the scene.
She said after hearing several “big booms and pops,” power went out at her residence several blocks away and she left went to find out what happened. She then found the crash scene, located between Oakwood and Cologne lanes on Antelope Road.
Police quickly blocked off Antelope Road and advised bystanders to stay away from the area due to the risk of the damaged pole falling. A SMUD truck arrived shortly after midnight and could be seen shining a light on the pole, which was leaning over, although still mostly upright.
Firefighters were also observed inspecting a damaged four-door sedan located about 20 feet from the pole in the middle of a front yard, but it was unclear whether the car had been hit by another vehicle, or whether it was the vehicle that collided with the pole.
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According to SMUD’s online outage map, more than 16,000 customers in the Citrus Heights area lost power at 11:33 p.m. on Tuesday, apparently from the collision. Residents on Mariposa Avenue and some other areas reported having their power restored by around 12:20 a.m. Wednesday, and most others had power back on by 2:30 a.m., according to SMUD’s website.
The incident resulted in Antelope Road being shut down for about four hours between Lauppe Lane and Auburn Boulevard, according to email advisories sent to media by the Citrus Heights Police Department. Additional details about the incident were not included in the Department’s emails.
