A half-mile section of U.S. 321 Business between Newton and Maiden was closed for about four hours Thursday following a single-vehicle accident that downed power lines in the area.
The accident happened at about 2:30 p.m. when Stephen Bates, 59, of Newton drove left of the centerline and slammed his red 2002 full-size Ford pickup truck into a power pole, knocking down the pole and the power lines, said Trooper Steve Tabet.
“He stayed in the truck until emergency crews got to the scene,” he said, adding that the active power lines fell onto Bates’ truck and he could’ve been seriously injured if he had tried to get out of his vehicle.
Bates suffered minor injuries in the accident, but decided not to go to the hospital, Tabet said.
The Newton Fire department and Department of Transportation repair crews closed a half-mile section of road to repair the downed power lines immediately following Bates’ accident. Business 321 reopened to traffic at about 6:30 p.m.
Neither speed nor alcohol appears to have been a factor in the crash, but it is unclear what caused it. The investigation is ongoing, Tabet said.
There were 340 homes without electricity in the downed power line’s vicinity, according to the Duke Energy website.
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