Update: Truck Hits Wires, Causes Power Outage
About 3,400 customers lose power after Vale Road incident.
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Update, 2:34 p.m.: Fairfax County sent out an alert that Vale Road will be closed at Oak Valley Drive in Vienna for about eight hours.
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Update, 1:34 p.m.: The truck did not crash into the pole, but because of its height, it clipped the wires.
The truck was traveling eastbound on Vale Road. If traveling westbound, drivers will be detoured onto Rocky Branch Road. If traveling eastbound, drivers will be detoured onto Oak Valley Drive.
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Original post: A truck traveling on Vale Road crashed into a pole, causing a power outage for about 3,400 Dominion Virginia customers, authorities said.
The driver of the truck is conscious and alert, but he is still in the vehicle to stay safe from live wires that fell on his car, said Officer Don Gotthardt, a Fairfax County Police spokesperson.
The accident, which blew a transformer, occurred around 12:15 p.m. on the 9900 block of Vale Road, near Rocky Branch Road. Police are detouring traffic down Oak Valley Drive, Gotthardt said.
Dominion Virginia Power is working to deactivate the live wires and replace the pole, spokesperson Jim Norvelle said. About 2,400 customers have had their power restored, leaving about 1,000 still in the dark.
Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.
Jack406
8:35 pm on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Too many of the electric wires crossing roads in and around Vienna are too low. This isn't the first time that a moving truck has brought down power lines, and it may be Dominion's fault rather than the movers. Same thing has happened repeatedly on Polly Street SE in Vienna.