Police are hunting the driver of a stolen car who downed a power pole in Melbourne’s west, knocking out power to more than 2000 homes on Saturday.
The black Holden coupe slammed into a pole at the corner of Maher Road and Heffernan Street, Laverton, shortly after 12pm.
Leading Senior Constable Paul Turner said the car had been travelling west in Maher Road when it appeared the driver lost control and hit the pole.
“The impact snapped the pole at the base,” he said.
“The car then continued through the front fence of a home on Maher Road and came to rest against the boundary fence of that property and a neighbouring property.”
“The driver fled on foot prior to police arriving.”
No injuries were reported.
Firefighters remained at the scene for more than an hour due to public safety concerns because of live wires.
Power outage
Powercor spokeswoman Avi Tan said electricity was cut off to 2148 homes, and was not able to be restored to 75 homes until about 10pm.
“The reason for the delay is because the car hit a main corner pole, as we call it, so there was quite a bit of equipment on the pole and excessive damage,” she said.
“Not only do we have to fix the pole, it’s all the equipment on top of that that has to be made safe again.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report at crimestoppersvic.com.au
with The Age
