An impaired driver obliterated a BC Hydro pole in Esquimalt Tuesday evening, knocking out power to hundreds of people.
In a tweet just at 7:25 a.m. Wednesday morning, VicPD say the collision occurred at about 9 p.m. on October 6, by the intersection of Admirals Road and Esquimalt Road.
They added that the collision closed the intersection overnight as crews worked to replace the hydro pole. Work continued this morning and police said it may affect morning commutes in Esquimalt.
An impaired single vehicle crash at 9 last night at Admirals & Esquimalt closed the intersection overnight as crews worked to replace a damaged hydro pole. The work continued into this morning & may impact #yyjtraffic in #Esquimalt.
— Victoria Police (@vicpdcanada) October 7, 2020
Just before 9 a.m., the Township of Esquimalt tweeted that traffic lights were still out at the intersection of Admirals and Esquimalt and drivers were asked to use 4-way stop procedures.
The Township added that crews were onsite to complete repairs but traffic was expected to remain slow for at least a couple more hours.
Traffic lights are still out at #Esquimalt and Admirals roads and we're asking drivers to use 4-way stop procedures. Crews are on site to complete repairs but traffic will remain slow for the next couple hours. #yyjtraffic https://t.co/5rFGdkl3SH
— TownshipOfEsquimalt (@EsquimaltBC) October 7, 2020
Photos from the scene show a semi-truck towing a section of pipe pulled over by police to the side of the road, as well the splintered and wrecked pole.
According to BC Hydro, the outage affected 256 customers North of Carlisle Avenue, South of Colville Road, West of Rockheights Avenue and East of Nelson Street, from 9:23 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Victoria Police say that the semi-truck driver was pulled over by a patrol officer after he collided with the power pole and did not stop.
As the officer approached the stopped vehicle, a witness spoke with the officer and handed him a brown paper bag with a partially consumed bottle of alcohol.
The witness told the officer that the driver of the semi-truck had thrown the bag from his vehicle after the crash.
VicPD say the driver was found to be impaired and was taken into custody. He was issued an administrative driving prohibition and several tickets, including a ticket for driving without due care and a ticket for failing to remain at the scene of a collision.
The semi-truck was impounded for 90-days and the driver’s license was seized.
