A young driver had a miraculous escape on Saturday night, when he slammed head-on into a power pole in west Armidale with considerable force. The impact totalled the recent model white sedan, yet the driver suffered only minor injuries. He is likely to face numerous charges.
At 10:15pm Saturday, Armidale Police, NSW Ambulance Paramedics and Fire & Rescue NSW attended a single vehicle crash at the corner of Barney and Niagara Streets, Armidale.
A 22-year-old male driver was the sole occupant of the sedan. He was conveyed to Armidale Hospital by Ambulance Paramedics with minor injuries, largely caused by the seat belt.
The driver was unlicensed and was not the owner of the vehicle.
“It appears that speed was a factor, contributing to this crash,” Armidale Police Duty Officer, Inspector Rod Shoesmith said.
The vehicle appears to have been heading west along Barney Street, which turns 90 degrees to the north, into Niagara Street. The speed was evidently too great for the bend, inertia took the vehicle straight into a power pole on the western side of Niagara Street.
“Police will await the results of a blood test to ascertain if the man had been drinking, and if he was over the limit.”
“Investigations will also determine if the driver had permission to take and drive the vehicle,” Inspector Shoesmith said.
The 22-year-old had not been charged by mid-Sunday, but could be facing a raft of charges, from “driving without a licence’ through to (possibly) “take and drive a vehicle without the permission of the owner’.
Once the driver had been extricated from the destroyed vehicle, a methodical cleanup operation ensued, with power lines snaking throughout the scene and a tow truck removing the wreck from the busy bend.
All power lines, including 11,000kVA lines, were broken and the power pole itself was damaged.
At 10.26pm Saturday, Essential Energy switched power off to 751 customers on the western side of Armidale, which included the industrial area.
Essential Energy’s Regional General Manager, Matt Patterson, said the power network was remotely switched off after reports of a car accident to ensure the safety of those in the vehicle and also the residents in the area.
“Our crews responded immediately, with their first priority being to ensure the safety of those in the vehicle, emergency service workers and residents in the area,” Mr Patterson said. “Our crews then worked quickly to ensure power was restored to households and businesses as soon as possible.”
The accident caused low voltage powerlines to fall to the ground and also caused damage to the high voltage network including to a device known as links which required replacement.
Essential Energy will seek to recover the cost of the repairs from the driver of the vehicle.
Residents and businesses had power restored at 3.09am on Sunday morning.
Story: Gary Fry
