BREAKING: Car crashes into power pole near Redding Airport, man hospitalized
REDDING, Calif. — UPDATE, MAY 4, 5:11 PM:
Roughly 300 PG&E customers remain without power near the Redding Airport after a car crashed into a power pole in the area.
The incident occurred at around 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday when Redding Police say a woman crashed into a power pole near 8000 Airport Road and caused a vegetation fire. RPD said the woman was driving northbound on Airport Road and briefly looked away from the road near Fig Tree Lane. She then lost control of her vehicle and crashed into the power pole.
Nearby employees at WSC Solar & Roofing company witnessed the crash and told KRCR's Dylan Brown they rushed over to extinguish the flames. However, while working to put out the fire, they said one of their employees was hit on the head by a hanging powerline and hospitalized.
Redding Fire officials said the vegetation fire has since been fully extinguished and PG&E de-energized the pole just before 3:45 p.m.
Northbound traffic was blocked on Airport Road near Fig Tree Lane, causing temporary delays while crews worked to clear the scene.
The driver involved in the crash was injured. Additionally, RPD said alcohol or drugs were not a factor.
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UPDATE, MAY 4, 4:45 PM:
There are currently around 300 PG&E customers without power south of the Redding Airport after a car crashed into a power pole in the area.
PG&E says approximately 296 customers are being affected near the Pacheco area of Redding. Power is expected to be restored by 7 p.m., according to the company's Outage Map.
The incident occurred at around 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday when Redding Police say a vehicle crashed into a power pole near 8000 Airport Road and caused a vegetation fire. Nearby employees at WSC Solar & Roofing company witnessed the crash and told KRCR's Dylan Brown they rushed over to extinguish the flames.
However, while working to put out the fire, they said one of their employees was hit on the head by a hanging powerline and hospitalized.
Redding Fire officials said the vegetation fire has since been fully extinguished and PG&E de-energized the pole just before 3:45 p.m.
Northbound traffic was blocked on Airport Road near Fig Tree Lane, causing temporary delays while crews worked to clear the scene.
Police said the driver involved in the incident has not been hospitalized, however, their current condition is unknown.
Check back for updates.
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BREAKING, May 4, 3:55 PM:
An employee at a local solar and roofing company has been hospitalized after coming into contact with a hanging powerline while attempting to extinguish a vegetation fire caused by a crash near the Airport.
According to Redding Police, a driver crashed through a power pole near 8000 Airport Road.
Employees at WSC Solar & Roofing told KRCR's Dylan Brown they witnessed the crash at around 3:30 p.m. and began to see flames on the grass field near the road. They then went over to extinguish the fire, however, while working to put out the flames, an employee was touched on his head by a hanging power line and was hospitalized.
The current condition of the driver is unknown but RPD said they were out of the vehicle and walking following the crash and have not been hospitalized.
Northbound traffic is currently closed on Airport Road at Fig Tree Lane while crews work to extinguish the rest of the flames and replace the downed pole. There is currently no estimated time of reopening.
Additionally, it is unknown how many residents will be losing power due to this crash.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as new information becomes available.
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