Man crashes car into utility pole in Arnold, nearby homes lose power

A man was injured Monday night when he crashed his car head-on into a utility pole along Constitution Boulevard in Arnold, igniting sparks and prompting nearby properties to briefly lose power, officials and residents said.

Police and volunteer firefighters responded to the report of the crash in the 1500 block of Constitution Boulevard shortly before 7:30 p.m., 911 dispatchers said.

An ambulance took one man, the vehicle’s driver, to a hospital, Arnold police said.

The extent of his injuries was unclear.

An Arnold officer and witnesses at the scene said the man initially appeared to be unconscious after the crash but was alert by the time medics took him to get treatment.

Paul Wingate Sr. of Arnold was seated at a folding table prepping religious pamphlets about his ministry group, Kingdom Men in Action, when he heard a jarring boom. He looked up and saw a four-door, dark sedan smashed into the pole just 10 to 20 feet away, with an injured man stuck inside. Then he heard a series of loud pops as transformers at the top of an adjacent utility pole fired off sparks.

“I was reading something and my mind was on what I was reading and then all of a sudden, I hear the big boom,” Wingate said. “I was scared not for myself, but for the person in the car.”

“Don’t move him,” another witness called out.

Wingate used his cellphone to dial 911.

A nearby pole still was emitting sparks when first responders arrived but died out after a few minutes, Wingate said.

Authorities temporarily shut down a stretch of the road near McCandless Street while a utility repair crew from West Penn Power checked for potential electricity issues or risks. Jadden Stop & Go, a convenience store whose entrance is a couple dozen feet from the site of the crash, closed while crews completed the inspection and officials cleared the wreckage.

Officials turned the power back on for the handful of homes and businesses in the area by 9 p.m.

No further details were immediately available about what may have contributed to the crash.

Arnold police are investigating.