Pocatello man arrested after crashing SUV into power pole, causing widespread Chubbuck area power outage
Sep 1, 2017It also resulted in the arrest of the driver — Brandon Acosta, 27, of Pocatello — who caused the outage when his SUV crashed into a power pole with such force that the pole was sheared off at its base.Police said the one-vehicle crash on busy Yellowstone Avenue at Bringhurst Street occurred around 12:30 p.m. Saturday. That intersection remained closed until around 6:30 p.m. Saturday while Idaho Power workers replaced the power pole severed in the wreck.AdvertisementIdaho Power said over 2,300 of its customers in the Chubbuck area lost power because of the crash. But by 7 p.m. Saturday power had been restored to everyone.The wreck occurred when Acosta reached for a water bottle in his Ford Explorer while traveling on Yellowstone Avenue and then lost control of the vehicle, police said. He crashed into the power pole at Yellowstone and Bringhurst, completely severing the pole and causing the downed power lines that resulted in the power outage.Police said several traffic lights in Chubbuck were temporarily out of service because of the outage and Walmart and several businesses in the Pine Ridge Mall area also temporarily lost power.Police said Acosta was miraculously not hurt in the crash, but he was arrested afterward because he was driving with a suspended license and there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest.Acosta was booked into Bannock County Jail on a charge of driving without privileges as well as the arrest warrant for a probation violation on his previous driving while under the influence conviction.His Ford Explorer suffered severe front-end damage in the crash. (Idaho State Journal)