Officer-involved accident sends two people to the hospital, knocks out power to nearly 80 customers

Posted: Dec 12, 2010 5:52 PM by Danielle Lerner
Updated: Dec 13, 2010 7:10 AM

Dozens of people in Paso Robles were without power for most of the day after an officer-involved accident on Highway 101.

The early-morning crash shut down a portion of Highway 101 for almost two hours and sent two people to the hospital, including a police officer.

It all started just after 1:00 a.m. on Highway 101 south of State Route 46 West. That is where a truck collided with a power pole, knocking power lines across both lanes.

A short time later a 16-year-old girl crashed into a Paso Robles police car that was doing traffic control on the highway. The girl was not hurt but the officer inside the patrol car received minor injuries.

Even though the accident happened around 1:00 a.m. people living and working nearby dealt with the aftermath all day.

Investigators still don't know why the 2004 Ford swerved off the highway, through a fence and into a power pole. Incredibly the driver, 25-year-old Daniel Woodman of Atascadero, suffered only minor injuries.

On Sunday crews were still hard at work trying to clean up the mess and restore power to nearly 80 customers. Customers like Paso Robles Chevrolet.

"Makes things a bit slower," said Joe Starbuck, a sales manager at the car dealership. "We have to call to another dealership and have them run a credit and stuff like that."

Employees and customers tried to make the best of the situation but from running credit, to printing paperwork, the outage made for a tedious afternoon.

"It affects the selling process because obviously the paperwork can not be signed or anything like that so we have to do what they call BCA, a borrowed car agreement, and once we come to terms on that they can take the car home and hopefully come back and sign the paperwork," said Starbuck.

A long day for PGE crews and people living nearby. Still officers say the outcome could have been much worse.

Investigators do not believe drugs or alcohol played a role in either crash but they say the 16-year-old girl who slammed into the patrol car was driving too fast given the amount of work being done on the highway at the time.