In the early hours of Sunday morning, Winter Haven businesses experienced an unexpected jolt as their electrical currents came to a sudden halt. The cause, as FOX 13 News reports, was a crash where a gold Honda Accord struck a power pole on Havendale Boulevard, leading to a widespread power outage.
The incident occurred just before 5 a.m. when the driver, heading eastbound on Havendale Boulevard, swerved off the road at 16th Street, severing the power pole with the crash's impact. All eastbound traffic was subsequently redirected to Lake Howard Drive, as power lines were taken out, affecting businesses from Havendale Boulevard and 20th Street up to MLK and First Street. Continuing, the downed lines caused traffic signals to fail, prompting ABC Action News to alert drivers to exercise caution within the impacted areas.
Winter Haven Police Department, as per WTSP, confirmed that the driver of the Honda was not injured in the accident, and impairment does not appear to be the cause. However, due to the necessity of additional equipment for repairs, a clear timeframe for the restoration of power was not immediately available.
Police officials noted, in the wake of the crash, traffic signals were out from MLK Boulevard at First Street all along Havendale Boulevard. With the absence of controlling signals to guide them, drivers have been reminded to be extra careful when traveling through the affected stretches of roadway. While business owners along the darkened boulevards endured the outage, the full scope of the disruption to their Sunday commerce remains unlit, much like the streets themselves.
