A crash involving a parked car, a power pole and a bus knocked out power to more than 2,000 customers in the north Quadra area Monday morning.
A small grey Chevy car initially hit an unoccupied vehicle parked on Beckwith Avenue. The female driver, the lone occupant of the car, then turned southbound on Quadra Street toward McKenzie Avenue and hit a power pole.
The wooden pole hosting up to 10 wires was sheared off at its base, leaving it suspended by wires, leaning across the street.
A B.C. Transit bus following closely behind the crashed vehicle became trapped under the live wires. Saanich fire crews and police assisted in clearing the bus, said Saanich police Sgt. Damian Kowalewich.
Immediately after the crash, sparking live wires were lying across Quadra Street, said police.
The car driver escaped with minor injuries and is in hospital for assessment. Preliminary evidence suggests the woman was not impaired, police said.
The outage, which began at 7:25 a.m., extended up Quadra to the Pat Bay Highway, just past Chatterton Way, and down to Lakeview Avenue in the south.
B.C. Transit said its No. 6 bus was temporarily affected by the downed power lines on Quadra Street but did not make contact with them.
The bus driver was instructed not to let passengers off the bus and to remain at the scene until emergency crews could attend, said senior media relations officer Jamie Weiss, adding the bus was able to carry on after a short delay.
Kowalewich said at 8:45 a.m. that B.C. Hydro would be on the scene for “several hours” for a full pole removal and replacement.
Nearby St. Margaret’s School on Lucas Avenue dismissed students in the early afternoon due to the power outage.
Motorists were warned to expect traffic delays while work was underway in the Quadra Street and Rogers Avenue area. Traffic police were re-routing vehicles around the area.
A police investigation into the crash is ongoing. Police and B.C. Hydro crews were at the scene and power was estimated to return at 5 p.m.
