Trooper Crashes Into Pole, Causes Outage

A state trooper crashed his unmarked cruiser into a utility pole on Toddy Hill Road at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, knocking out power to an area that recently had its electricity restored, officials and residents said.

The trooper, who was wearing shorts and appeared off duty, did not appear injured.

The unmarked cruiser he was operating appeared to have been traveling south on Toddy Hill Road when for an unknown reason the vehicle crossed all travel lanes and crashed into a utility pole on the other side of the road.

Newtown police on scene referred all questions to state police, saying the cruiser was the only vehicle involved and they would leave it to state police to release information.

Traffic in both directions was stopped and homes on the road had their electricity turned off for the second time since Tropical Storm Irene swept through the state.

Utility crews also had to be diverted from storm work in order to repair the downed wires and pole that had cracked in half and was hanging over the vehicle on well-traveled Toddy Hill Road.

It was not known how many people had their power knocked out as a result of the crash. Connecticut Light & Power listed the outages in Newtown at 63-percent, an increase of about 3-percent from earlier in the afternoon.

Sandy Hook volunteer firefighters and an ambulance also were dispatched but no one was transported, according to emergency responders on scene.