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.
For an update on this story, see: “Driver who hit Citrus Heights power pole arrested for DUI, hit & run”
