Car hits pole, knocks out power
The bustling intersection of Algonquin and Arlington Heights roads was shut down by a car that hit a utility pole, snarling traffic, knocking out power to thousands and sending one man to the hospital Monday.
A 49-year-old man was taken to Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights with non-life-threatening injuries after the one-car crash around 6:14 p.m., Arlington Heights police Sgt. Bob Murray said.
The man, who suffered leg and head injuries, was attempting to turn south on Arlington Heights Road from eastbound Algonquin Road when he hit the pole, causing it to fall on top of the vehicle and into the middle of the intersection. The downed pole exposed passing cars to live wires.
About 3,600 ComEd customers were left without power after the crash, with about 200 customers still without power as of 8 p.m., a ComEd spokesman said.
The outages were from Algonquin Road to Seegers Road and Tonne Drive to South Martin Lane in Arlington Heights, officials said.
The intersection remained closed late Monday so crews could fix the downed wires and clear the crash debris, not especially because of the accident investigation, Murray said.
Traffic was detoured onto side streets.
Motorists were blocked from the Northwest Tollway entrance ramp because there was no way to safely allow traffic through the intersection, officials said. The Arlington Heights Road exit from the tollway also was blocked.
The injured man had not been cited late Monday, but some sort of traffic citation was expected, police said.