UPDATED @ 9:18 p.m. Dec. 11: The accident that prompted power outages Sunday in State College was a single-vehicle incident, borough police said.
Shortly after 7:30 a.m., according to a police report, a borough garbage truck struck a utility pole on the 200 block of East Calder Way.
No injuries were reported, though the utility pole was badly damaged, police said. (The truck was reported to have sustained no serious damage.)
As a result of the pole damage, West Penn Power shut off power to much of downtown State College for about 55 minutes as workers replaced some equipment and made repairs, police said.
Earlier coverage is posted below.
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Initial report, posted @ 10:57 a.m. Dec. 11:
A Sunday-morning car accident on Calder Way is prompting power outages in downtown State College, Penn State reported.
The crash broke off a utility pole, ‘causing emergency crews to respond and West Penn Power to shut off electricity in the immediate area for several hours,’ according to a Penn State statement. ‘The power outage will affect a large number of people living in off-campus housing in the downtown area. There is no report available on the driver’s condition.’
The power company and State College borough crews, responding to the accident, reported that power also will be cut off for a ‘large segment of downtown State College so that repairs (can) begin,’ the university statement reads. That large outage is expected to take place from 10:30 a.m. to noon Sunday ‘in areas along both College and Beaver avenues, and all side streets in between.
‘Depending on the damage caused by the vehicle accident, that core area of downtown may need to be extended beyond Beaver Avenue,’ the Penn State statement goes on. ‘People living in apartment complexes are urged to use the stairs, since the elevators will be non-functioning.’
Students living in the downtown can seek shelter in the HUB-Robeson Center if their residences become chilly, the university noted.
