Double-Fatal Crash on Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Hundreds Left in the Dark

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A car crashed into a power pole and fire hydrant in Chatsworth at 3:05 a.m., killing two people and knocking out electricity to nearly 800  customers, authorities said.

The early Sunday morning crash at Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Lassen Street was just five intersections south of an LAPD sobriety roadblock which was scheduled to end about an hour earlier.

Firefighters reported two people dead at the scene, Los Angeles police Officer Kenneth Franco of the Valley Traffic Bureau said. Apparently, no one else was in the vehicle. A downed power line cut service to 771 DWP customers, utility spokeswoman Gale Harris said.

Electricity blinked momenterally throughout the area, knocking digital clocks, computers and cable television offline.

Crews were on the scene to begin repairs, which could take six to eight hours. Harris said they might restore some power sooner by routing electricity around the damaged circuit.

The names of the victims were not immediately released, nor was the cause of the accident.

City News Service contributed to this story.