Traffic accident results in power outage for 500 homes

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, November 14, 2023

CLEVELAND — A Sunday morning traffic accident left approximately 500 Duke Energy customers without power near Cleveland.

According to the Duke Energy Outage Map, the power loss was primarily confined to the area near Sherrills Ford Road and Long Branch Road.

A representative with the American Red Cross indicated that Sherrills Ford Road was closed between Long Branch Road and Lowder Road for an extended period of time on Sunday as crews worked to clear a scene that involved an “vehicle overturned into a creek.”

A member of the Locke Township Fire Department confirmed that the initial vehicle struck a pole before entering the creek. They received a call on the accident around 8:30 a.m. The collision causes power lines to fall down toward the road. A tractor-trailer subsequently impacted the power lines which caused the power outage.

That source also said when they arrived on scene, the vehicle was overturned and leaking fuel into the water, prompting a call to the Salisbury hazmat team to mitigate contamination.

The driver of the vehicle that wound up in the the water declined medical transport and the driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured.