Police ask you not to do what some drivers did following a crash in Idaho Falls
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IDAHO FALLS — The Idaho Falls Police Department is reminding drivers to respect road closures and avoid driving on downed power lines following an accident Tuesday morning.
A teenager was driving east on Pancheri Drive around 11:45 a.m. when they changed lanes and hit another vehicle that was turning eastbound onto Pancheri from Blue Sky Drive, according to police. The driver then hit trees, a power pole and utility boxes before coming to a stop.
Nobody was seriously hurt but the crash knocked down a power pole and caused power lines to fall into the road. Around 1,300 Idaho Falls Power customers lost electricity and police say speed is believed to have played a “significant” factor in the incident.
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As officers arrived on the scene, they noticed many vehicles were driving over downed power lines. The department addressed the issue in a Facebook post.
“Downed power lines present a significant safety risk to pedestrians and motorists. Idaho Falls Police officers and other responders immediately closed sections of the roadway but continued to have multiple drivers attempt to drive around cones, police and utility vehicles through the afternoon,” the post read. “This is something we see far too often in our community.”
Officers remind drivers that they close roads “to protect the life and safety of people moving through the area, responders, and those involved in the incident.” Drivers who see emergency vehicles in the road, along with cones or road closure signs, should not attempt to drive around them but should take alternative routes.