Driver cited after rollover crash in Bartlett damages utilty pole, starts fire
A 20-year-old Chicago man was uninjured but cited for improper lane use after a single-vehicle rollover crash Thursday morning in Bartlett.
Fernando Carranza received the citation after Bartlett police investigated the circumstances of the crash involving the 2005 Ford F-350 pickup truck he was driving westbound on West Bartlett Road at about 9:15 a.m.
Officers were responding to a report of a rollover crash at that time in the area of West Bartlett Road and Jodi Lane.
According to the investigation, Carranza allegedly had fallen asleep behind the wheel when his vehicle struck the curb, drove off the roadway and hit a ComEd utility pole.
The impact caused the vehicle to roll over and come to rest on its driver's side. But Carranza was able to safely exit before the vehicle caught on fire from a downed power line's damaged pole.
The Bartlett Fire Protection District extinguished the fire, but West Bartlett Road remained closed between Route 59 and Naperville Road for about an hour and a half while ComEd repaired the damaged utility pole.
Carranza is set to appear in court June 15 at the Cook County Courthouse in Rolling Meadows.