Thousands Lose Power After Teen Driver Strikes Rochester Utility Pole
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- The lights are back on for thousands of Rochester Public Utilities customers who lost power after a vehicle struck a utility pole Monday evening.
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Rochester Police Department Spokeswoman Amanda Grayson says dispatch took the report of a motor vehicle crash around 7:45 Monday evening.
The preliminary investigation indicates the driver, described as a juvenile female, swerved to avoid a deer, left the road and struck a utility pole.
The vehicle was heading south on 18th Ave Southwest in the 2200 block. The Rochester Fire Department responded to the scene to extricate the driver from the vehicle.
She was buckled up and determined to be ok by first responders, Grayson says. Her name is not being released.
Rochester Public Utilities reported 2,301 customers in southwest Rochester lost power as a result of the crash.
Crews reported the completion of power restoration efforts about two hours after responding to the scene of the outage.
Monday's crash was the third vehicle-utility pole collision in southeast Minnesota in past week. Customers in rural northeastern Rochester lost power after a vehicle hit a utility pole on the morning of April 3.
In Fillmore County a Grand Meadow woman, suspected of being under the influence of alcohol, crashed into a utility pole after leaving Hwy. 63/Hwy. 16 just west of Spring Valley on the night of April 3.
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Minnesota Counties Where Deer vs. Vehicle Collisions Are Most Common
Gallery Credit: Nick Cooper
