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Car crashes into pole, causes power outage in Chesterfield

Posted at 2:34 PM, Feb 07, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-07 19:43:15-05

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Hundreds were without power in Chesterfield County after an accident involving a power line early Sunday morning.

Police say an intoxicated driver lost control of his vehicle on the 5200 block of Centralia Road and swerved off of the road into a power pole, knocking it into the road.

The accident caused 228 people in the area to lose power, according to the Dominion Power outage map.

Joan Gillison, who lives off Centralia, was without power and heat for hours Sunday.

“It’s bad, I had an 18 month old I had to put her in the bed with me to keep her warm," she said.

Dominion Power crews worked to remove the damaged pole from the road and were able to restore power to all affected a little before 10:30 a.m.

This is the third accident involving this power pole on Centralia Road in four months.

According to police, a driver slammed into the pole on November 20, and less than a month later, on December 14, a drunk driver crashed into the same power pole.  Each time, hundreds of  households were left without power.

"I have a neighbor that I be concerned about, because he depends on oxygen," said Gillison.

People who live in the area told CBS 6 they would like the power pole moved.

"They really need to slow down and think about the people, who live here," Mr. Gillison said.

Dominion Power has said that they are looking into what changes, if any they can make to improve the line's reliability and encourage anyone with suggestions to call their customer service line at 1-866-366-4357 (1-866-DOM-HELP).

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