SEQUIM — Power was restored at 1 p.m. Thursday to the last of 1,300 Clallam County Public Utility District customers in the mid-Dungeness area and Old Olympic Highway is back open, according to the district’s website.
Sequim Police Sgt. Dave Campbell said the driver of the 1999 Jeep Cherokee that struck the utility pole and knocked out the power was taken to Olympic Medical Center to be treated for injuries.
He has not been charged, but it is an ongoing investigation, so the driver’s name can’t be released, Campbell said.
“I don’t know if there’s going to be charges,” Campbell said.
Power went out 2:30 a.m. Thursday when the Jeep car hit a power pole at Elizabeth Lane and Old Olympic Highway, sending power lines onto the roadway.
Clallam County PUD spokeswoman Nicole Hartman said at 8 a.m. Thursday that the number of outages had been reduced to 440 by then and that Old Olympic Highway was closed at Elizabeth Lane.
According to an 8 a.m. post to the PUD’s Facebook page, “Customers should detour around the area by using Fifth Avenue or Kendall Road. Restoration is expected to take six hours. That estimate may be adjusted as work gets closer to completion.”
Affected streets include Kirner, Woodcock, Towne, Livengood, Kendall, Marchbank, McComb, Fitzgerald, Evans and associated side roads.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at brian.gawley@soundpublishing.com.