VICTORIA -- A semi-truck driver had their vehicle impounded for 90 days after they allegedly crashed into a hydro pole in Esquimalt while impaired by alcohol.
Victoria police say the crash occurred just after 9 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of Admirals Road and Esquimalt Road.
Police say a patrol officer was directly behind the semi-truck when it collided with a hydro pole. The truck, which was hauling a 60-foot wood piling, destroyed the hydro pole and knocked out power to the traffic lights at the intersection, as well to some customers in the area.
“The impact of the collision sheared the power pole in two, leaving the pole hanging by only the tension wires,” said VicPD in a release Wednesday.
Police say the driver did not stop the vehicle after the crash and only pulled over once instructed to by police.
While the patrol officer who witnessed the event was approaching the driver, a witness in the area gave police a partially consumed bottle of liquor that was covered in a brown paper bag. The witness told the officer that they had seen the driver toss the object out of their vehicle window after the crash.
Police allege that the driver was indeed impaired and took them into custody. They were also issued an administrative driving prohibition, had their semi-truck driver’s licence seized, had their vehicle impounded for 90 days. The driver received tickets for driving without due care and for failing to remain at the scene of a collision.
The intersection was closed overnight for repairs and traffic remains slow in the area Wednesday morning as BC Hydro and municipal crews continue to make repairs.
