Richmond RCMP are investigating a single-vehicle collision that knocked out power for over 320 BC Hydro customers Friday night.
The collision woke up Jack Wootton, who told the Richmond News he initially thought the upper portion of the hydro pole – which sits on the southeast corner of No. 7 Road and Westminster Highway – had “sheared off,” due to the wind.
“I didn’t see the truck until the emergency personnel illuminated the area,” said Wootton, who had gone outside to check for damage to his property as live wires had fallen into the intersection.
Mounties arrived on scene around midnight, where they found a “heavily damaged” light-coloured Dodge pick-up truck, which had collided with a hydro pole, said Richmond RCMP’s Cpl. Dennis Hwang.
After hitting the pole, said Wootton, the pick-up truck had travelled about 50 ft. east across a wide grassy shoulder, before hitting the fence of a nearby winery.
“The driver of the truck ran away before the RCMP arrived, leaving his truck embedded in the chainlike fence of the winery,” said Wootton.
Hwang confirmed the driver had fled on foot following the collision, and said that while RCMP conducted extensive patrols of the area, the vehicle’s occupant – or occupants – were unable to be located.
The RCMP’s investigation into the collision is ongoing, said Hwang.
According to BC Hydro’s website, power was out from 11:45 p.m. Friday until 9:39 a.m. Saturday. The outage affected 323 customers in the area east of No. 6 Road, south of Bridgeport Road and north of Blundell Road.
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