Tired driver drifts into tree causing Cedar City power outage

An exhausted driver heading home after working all night Friday caused power outage Saturday morning in Cedar City when he ran into a tree and it hit nearby power lines, Cedar City, Utah | Photo courtesy of Penny Richards, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A power outage Saturday morning in Cedar City was caused by an exhausted driver heading home after working all of Friday night, according to police. The driver hit a tree near the Coal Creek Trail by Centennial Park Saturday at about 8:30 a.m.

A driver was cited by Cedar City Police after he crashed into a tree which caused a power outage in Cedar City, Utah
| Photo courtesy of Penny Richards, St. George News

“The driver wasn’t impaired, he just been working all night and we think he was trying to make the curve and just drifted off to sleep,” Cedar City Police Sgt. Tim Bonzo said. “The driver never actually hit the power pole. He hit a tree and it broke off a branch and then the branch hit one of the guy wires.”

Bonzo said it wasn’t difficult to fix for the power company, and people weren’t without power for very long. Bonzo estimated the time without power was around 20 – 30 minutes.

“But the crash did cause the streetlights on North Main and near the hospital to go out briefly,” Bonzo said.

Originally 2,174 customers were without power, according to the Rocky Mountain Power online outage map. The driver was cited for improper lane travel.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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