Topeka, KS: Car crashes two poles but no one injuried,Oakland neighborhood loses power on Friday night February 20 2015

More than 1,000 customers in Topeka’s Oakland neighborhood were without power Friday night after a driver fleeing a trooper in a stolen car struck a pole, downing power lines, authorities said.

Shawnee County sheriff’s Sgt. Brad Jones said the sheriff’s office received a report about 5 p.m. that a red Pontiac Grand Prix had been stolen from the 8700 block of S.W. 29th.

A Kansas Highway Patrol trooper spotted the stolen vehicle about 6:45 p.m. at N.E. Seward and Straight in Oakland and tried to stop it for a traffic violation, Jones said. The driver fled from the trooper and crashed the car at N.E. Seward and Rice Road, striking a utility pole, he said.

Erin La Row, a spokeswoman for Westar, said the vehicle damaged two poles about 6:50 p.m. at N.E. Seward and Rice Road. About 1,122 customers lost power, she said.

Most customers’ power was restored by 8:30 p.m., La Row said, but about 105 customers weren’t expected to regain electricity until the two poles were replaced.

Additional crews responded to the area, but La Row didn’t have a time estimate for the pole replacement as of 9 p.m. However, she said, power may not be restored until early Saturday.

No injuries were reported in the crash, according to Shawnee County emergency dispatch.

Jones said the driver of the stolen vehicle was taken into custody by the trooper after running from the wrecked vehicle. A passenger in the car also fled and hadn’t been located as of 9:30 p.m., he said.



Source :
Oakland neighborhood loses power after driver fleeing trooper crashes into pole