Crash leaves thousands without power in NE Salem Tuesday night
A driver hit a power pole in northeast Salem Tuesday night, causing a two-hour outage for about 3,400 homes and businesses in the area.
Lights went dark shortly after the crash, which took place at 9:28 p.m., said Portland General Electric spokeswoman Marsha Sanchez. The crash was on Northeast 23rd Street between Northeast Englewood Avenue and Northeast D Street.
Witnesses reported “a vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed when the driver appeared to lose control at the intersection,” Salem police spokeswoman Angela Hendrick said in an email. She said the driver was cited for reckless driving.
Sanchez said the crash caused damage to a feeder, which led to the outage.
Power was restored around 11:30 p.m.
The outage is the second major power outage in Salem this month. On Aug. 8, a fallen oak tree branch took out a power line and several poles in west Salem, leaving about 2,400 homes and businesses out of power overnight and into the following day.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers education, economic development and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for over a decade and is a past president of Oregon's Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Outside of work, you can often find her gardening or with her nose buried in a book.
