PORT ANGELES — A nighttime car wreck resulted in an arrest for investigation of driving under the influence and an overnight power outage for about 260 customers in the Black Diamond Road area.
At about 7:15 p.m. Andrew C. Thompson, 42, was driving a white 1985 Chevrolet Suburban northbound on Black Diamond Road when he failed to negotiate the corner in the 200 block and struck a telephone pole, said Brian King, chief criminal deputy for the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
King said the car severed the pole and nearly hit a house.
“The truck came to rest against the house,” King said.
“Speed and impairment contributed to the cause,” he said.
He said the SUV was trapped there until about 7 a.m. Tuesday because of entanglement with electrical power lines.
The wreck broke power lines loose and cut power to about 260 homes in the area of U.S. Highway 101 and Black Diamond Road, said Mike Howe, spokesman for the Clallam County Public Utility District.
Power was restored to those customers at about 4:45 a.m., Howe said.
Thompson was booked into the Clallam County jail for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol, said Trooper Russ Winger, spokesman for the State Patrol.
Thompson was no longer in the jail Tuesday afternoon. Bail had been set at $1,000.
Mike DeRousie, assistant chief of Clallam County Fire District No. 2, said medics arrived on scene to find that the driver of the Chevy Suburban had already self-extricated and declined further treatment.
Clallam County sheriff’s deputies led the investigation into the wreck, assisted by the State Patrol.
State Patrol troopers were there only to assist the sheriff’s deputies; they took Thompson to jail, Winger said.
King said Thompson is listed as a transient, while the State Patrol listed him as a Nordland resident.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
