A single-vehicle crash in Cornelius knocked down a power pole and live wires at the intersection of West Catawba Avenue and Westmoreland Road on Tuesday night, sparking a road closure that was expected to stretch into Wednesday morning and cutting power to thousands of customers along the West Catawba corridor.
Cornelius police said the vehicle struck the pole at that intersection, according to WBTV, though accounts of the timing differ. WBTV reported the crash happened around 7:15 p.m., while QC News put the time closer to 6:30 p.m. The crash also knocked down power lines near the intersection.
Police shut down West Catawba Avenue from Village Harbor Drive to Westmoreland Road as crews worked to clear the hazard. The department said the closure would last an extended period of time and, per the station's report, that it would remain in effect until Wednesday morning, with no exact reopening time given as of Tuesday night.
Conflicting Reports on Injuries
Accounts of whether anyone was hurt in the crash also diverge. QC News reported that medic officials said one person was taken to the hospital with serious injuries after crashing into the pole, while the same article notes that Cornelius police did not say whether the driver was injured. The driver's identity and the cause of the crash have not been released.
Thousands Lose Power Along the Corridor
The crash triggered widespread outages along the West Catawba corridor, with approximately 3,500 customers losing power, according to the earlier QC News report. The EnergyUnited outage map showed active outages in the utility's service area.
The crash also knocked out traffic signals at Westmoreland Road and West Catawba Avenue and at Sam Furr Road and West Catawba Avenue, forcing drivers to navigate the busy corridor without working lights for roughly two hours using WBTV’s timeline, or under three hours using QC News’s earlier crash time. Police said those signals were back on around 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, restoring some order to the intersection even as the road itself remained closed.
The final tally of affected customers and the exact time the roadway reopened have not been confirmed beyond the figures police and utility crews shared Tuesday night.
