Truck Flees Scene After Knocking Over Power Pole, Causing Outages

The driver and occupants of a pickup truck fled the scene after striking a power pole on Third Street in Santa Cruz Saturday evening, knocking out power in the downtown and Seabright areas, fire officials said.

The mid-size pickup truck hit a parking sign and fence and then sheared off a large power pole at 203 Third Street around 8:10 p.m., Battalion Chief Mike Venezio said.

The crash knocked wires to the ground and on to vehicles and several houses over a two-block area, prompting police to evacuate pedestrians and traffic from the area.

The driver and occupants of the truck fled the scene, and police are questioning several people who might have been involved, Venezio said.

No injuries were reported, but the crash caused a major power outage in the downtown and Seabright areas, according to Venezio.

The outage triggered fire alarms and caused elevators to get stuck around the area, and caused the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk to be shut down.

The crash was the second one Santa Cruz firefighters responded to Saturday evening. Around 6:15 p.m. a head-on crash occurred on Eastcliff Drive near the river.

Both vehicles sustained major damage, but all parties refused medical treatment.

That crash shut down Eastcliff for around an hour in both directions while police cleaned up oil and coolant spilled on the road.

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