Sleepy Driver Hits Utility Pole, Causes Fire, Power Outage

Just in time for Friday rush hour traffic, a tired driver collided a utility pole on El Camino Real in Belmont causing a grass fire and knocking out power for a short time to a section of Belmont.

According to Capt. Pat Halleran of the Belmont Police Department, at about 5:10 p.m., police and fire units responded to a report of a vehicle into a utility pole in the 300 block of El Camino. Callers also reported that a fire had started and the driver of the vehicle was fleeing from the scene.

Upon arrival, Halleran says officers found that a 1990 Ford truck had sheared off a utility pole and a grass fire was burning along the east side of the road. The driver, described as a Hispanic male in a black jacket, was not at the scene.

Officers located the driver, Aron Bacaquiroa, age 24 of Redwood City, on Pacific Boulevard, just north of 42nd Avenue in San Mateo. 

Bacaquiroa was taken into custody without incident for hit-and-run and driving without a license. He was not injured in the collision and had not been drinking. He told investigators that he fell asleep while driving.

Belmont and San Mateo firefighters extinguished the grass fire, which was caused by falling electrical wires. About 1000 square feet of grass was burned and no structures were damaged.

Police say the collision interrupted power for about an hour to about 4,000 customers in northwest Belmont. 

Traffic on El Camino Real was diverted during the incident and all lanes were opened to normal traffic by 7:00 p.m.