Car accident in Town Center causes power outage Monday afternoon

Published 1:04 pm Monday, June 25, 2012

If Islanders around the North end of the Island experienced a power outage Monday afternoon around 12:30 p.m., it was likely because of a car accident on S.E. 27th Street.

A woman driving north on 77th Avenue S.E. in a Toyota Camry ran a red light and collided with a woman driving a Toyota Tacoma in the intersection of S.E. 27th and 77th Avenue S.E. The Camry crashed into a Puget Sound Energy utility vault that sits in front of The Mercer building and knocked out power over a large portion of the North end. Several police officers and firefighters responded, including one firetruck from Bellevue.

Mercer Island police commander Leslie Burns said there were no serious injuries. The woman in the Camry remained in her car for a prolonged amount of time until Puget Sound Energy shut off the power, avoiding further damage. Power was restored around 2:15 p.m. The Camry was towed.

Puget Sound Energy said as of 4 p.m., power was restored to all customers of the Island. The utility vault, which the Camry hit, houses equipment for underground cable lines. Because the area is near a power substation, there was a lot of energy around the car, which is why crews shut down power to the area. Once the car was removed, the substation was slowly powered back up from around 2 p.m. until 4 p.m.

Reporter staff will continue to update the story as more information becomes available.