Independence Boulevard Open After Crash, Confusion

Independence Boulevard at Sardis Road North is now opened and work is finally underway Friday afternoon, several hours after someone ran into power poles at 2:40 a.m.

It took police three hours to get a hold of someone to see who was responsible for the cleanup. That delay means crews started on repairs more than nine hours after the accident.

Police said Duke Energy responded but said the Department of Transportation was responsible for the pole and for cleanup.

Officers said they tried to contact both the state and city DOT before finally getting in touch with a traffic engineer.

Once police made contact with the Charlotte Department Of Transportation around 6 a.m., the engineer said Duke Energy was responsible for the pole. Officers said the confusion was resolved around 9:45 a.m. when Duke Energy agreed to send a crew to install a new pole.

CDOT is going to investigate why police had so much trouble making contact with their repair crews.

Police said the driver who hit the pole could face charges. Officers said the driver was speeding down Sardis Road North and hit the pole. He was taken the hospital and expected to be ok.