Two people were hurt in east Charlotte early Thursday after a power outage knocked out traffic signals at an intersection, with one victim taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. The crash happened before sunrise as fallen tree limbs were blamed for damaging nearby power equipment.
Outage Left Hickory Grove Intersection Dark
The outage started just before 5 a.m. near North Sharon Amity Road and Kimmerly Glen Lane, according to Duke Energy information reported by WSOC-TV. It initially left at least 771 customers without power and also darkened signals at North Sharon Amity Road and Hickory Grove Road.
Two cars collided at that intersection shortly before 5:30 a.m. One person had to be extricated from a vehicle, while MEDIC reported one life-threatening injury and another person with minor injuries.
The traffic lights were back on around 6 a.m., and crews were clearing the crash scene as the morning commute got underway. Duke's early estimate called for service to be restored to 685 remaining customers by 8:15 a.m., although hundreds of outages were still being reported in the area at the time.
Intersection Already Listed For Future Improvements
The intersection is already on the city's transportation radar. Charlotte's Mobility Blueprint lists the Hickory Grove Road and North Sharon Amity Road intersection among locations identified for future safety and mobility improvements.
No identities were released in the early report, and officials had not provided a detailed account of how the vehicles entered the intersection. The outage may have contributed to the collision, but the full cause remains under investigation.
