A vehicle crash into a power pole early Monday morning caused a number of small fires and left nearly 8,000 Rocky Mountain Power customers in the dark. (Photo: Kelli Pierce)
MIDVALE, Utah — Unified Police have arrested a man for DUI after another car crashed into a power pole in Midvale, causing a large power outage.
Officers say 22-year-old suspect Preston Reed ran a stop sign around 6:00a.m. Monday, colliding with another car and causing that car to plow into a power pole on 8000 South near 400 West.
The accident caused a small fire that threatened two homes and left nearly 8,000 Rocky Mountain Power customers in the dark.
Unified Fire quickly put the fire out.
“It caused a power surge that caused a transformer to blow and when they blew they dropped some power lines on the ground that caused the fire,” Unified Fire spokesman Matthew McFarland explained after the accident.
Two homes were threatened by the fire, but McFarland said the combination of the freeway’s sound wall on one side and one of the homeowners well-manicured lawn prevented the fire from spreading.
Two passengers in the vehicle that hit the polewere treated for minor injuries on the scene.