Driver hits electrical pole; traffic diverted

PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man hit a utility pole east of Port Angeles, causing traffic to be diverted overnight Thursday.

A Toyota Tacoma pickup truck driven by Christopher L. Earl, 34, was eastbound on U.S. Highway 101 east of Mount Pleasant Road about 10:20 p.m. Thursday when the vehicle left the roadway to the right, striking a utility pole and coming to rest on the eastbound shoulder, according to a State Patrol memo.

Earl was treated for injuries at Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles and then booked into the Clallam County jail at 3:22 a.m. for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol. He was released by the prosecuting attorney’s office on Friday.

Traffic was diverted along Mount Pleasant Road following the wreck until early Friday morning.

State Patrol spokeswoman Katherine Weatherwax wrote in an email that troopers cleared the scene after the car was towed at 1:15 a.m. and the state Department of Transportation cleared the scene at 2:09 a.m.

Clallam County Public Utility District officials were not available on Friday for information on any outages caused by the wreck. The outage map on the PUD website reported one customer out of power on Friday afternoon.

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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at Brian.Gawley@ sound publishing.com

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