Driver, passengers fled crash that caused power outage in North Lancaster Tuesday
A driver fleeing police Tuesday evening crashed into a utility pole in a northeast Salem neighborhood, shutting off power to about 2,000 homes and businesses for several hours.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office is seeking tips about the collision near the North Lancaster neighborhood, saying the driver and passengers in the car fled before deputies arrived.
Deputies found several handguns in the car, the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post Tuesday night.
A deputy tried to pull the car over for a traffic stop around 7:40 p.m. Tuesday near Northeast Silverton and Brown Roads when the driver fled. The sheriff’s office did not say what prompted the stop.
The deputy did not pursue the car, according to the statement.
The driver then crashed into a power pole several blocks away in the 2500 block of Northeast Brown Road, causing the mass power outage.
The sheriff’s office released pictures of the crash scene which showed the car left on the front lawn of a home with its lights on. Another photo showed two handguns found in the car.
No injuries were reported.
The agency asked anyone with information to contact Deputy Adrian Fernandez at 503-949-2584.
The outage affected 2,068 customers, Portland General Electric reported at the time.
Power was restored to most customers about three hours later.
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Traffic accident takes out power for 2,000 in north Lancaster
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered the justice system and public safety for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
