A major roadway in Indio reopened this evening after being closed for more than 30 hours while crews replaced a power pole damaged in a car crash that left a woman seriously injured.
A Dodge Dart slammed into the pole at about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday on Monroe Street, just north of Highway 111, according to Indio Police Department spokesman Ben Guitron.
The driver of the Dart, described only as a man, ran away before police arrived at the scene. His passenger, a woman whose name was not released, was taken to an area hospital for treatment of injuries initially described as serious, Guitron said. An update on her condition was unavailable Wednesday.
Imperial Irrigation District crews were summoned to replace the damaged power pole, necessitating the closure of a short stretch of Monroe Street, between Highway 111 and Avenida Del Mar, to vehicle traffic. The roadway reopened about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Guitron said.
IID spokesman Robert Schettler said that the affected pole was particularly important, carrying two distribution circuits and one transmission circuit. Work was originally slated to be completed Tuesday evening, but crews required the used of specialized equipment, he said, which complicated the job.
The crash initially knocked out power to 250 customers in the area for about 30 minutes, he said. No other outages were reported.