Local

Power restored to more than 1,400 after crash took out pole in Matthews

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Duke Energy crews have restored power to hundreds of people after a 3-car crash took down a power pole in Matthews Wednesday morning.

[CLICK HERE for power outage map]

The crash happened around 9:45 a.m. on South Trade Street between Main Street and Fullwood Lane.

Police said the wreck resulted in a broken power pole, causing a large outage in the area which also knocked out electricity to traffic lights.

[ALSO READ: After hours in dark, power restored to hundreds of east Charlotte homes]

A driver hit one car, sped away then crashed into a second car all before plowing into a power pole, according to Matthews police.

MEDIC took two people to the hospital, but they are expected to be OK.

According to Duke Energy, there were more than 1,400 customers in the area without power. Matthews officials announced at 1:30 p.m. that all power had been restored.

For hours town hall, the community center and much of downtown were without power. The phone lines were also down because of the outage.

Instead of shivering for hours, Alexander Alvarado decided to run to warm himself up.

“Most of my day was shot. No WiFi, can't work, can't really do anything,” Alvarado said.

"A day or two like this doesn't bother me, but I was not prepared. I was caught off guard. I didn't have no fire logs. I had no wood,” resident Mike Douglas said.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools told Channel 9 Matthews Elementary also did not have power, but the school remained on a normal schedule.

CMS STATEMENT: 

"Good morning Matthews Elementary families. This is Principal Blanchard calling with some information about our day. Due to an accident that took down power lines on Trade St. near the school, the school has no power. The estimated time for the power to come back on is 1 p.m. We are continuing with a normal schedule as much as possible.

Students and classes are warm, and we are having the students wear their coats and anything else they may have brought to school. Lunches were served and our specials and recess are occurring as scheduled. Visitors are not permitted on campus because Lobbyguard is not working, and we cannot safely check people in. We appreciate your patience as we work to ensure students and the school are safe and learning continues."

School leaders said the students were keeping warm and were wearing their coats, along with anything else they brought to school.

Novant Matthews Hospital was working off a generator during the outage, officials said.

South Trade Street between Main Street and Fullwood Lane was shut down as crews worked to investigate the crash and restore power.

Residents said police and emergency crews were on top of the situation when it happened.

"A little flicker and then I said 'Oh my goodness, something's really wrong,'" resident Richard Quinlan said. "Police, and the emergency people were really right on top of things."

Check back with wsoctv.com for more information.