(Orleans)– A one-vehicle crash Friday evening left some Orleans residents in the dark and resulted in the vehicle’s driver being arrested for drunken driving after authorities finally tracked him down.
Spirit Lake police say they were called to 140th Street just east of the Fish Hatchery in Orleans shortly before 9:00 p.m. Friday after getting a report of some low-hanging power lines. Upon arrival, officers determined a car had collided with the pole, owned by Alliant Energy.
The vehicle that was involved was found near the pole, but the driver had fled. Upon further investigation, officers learned the vehicle was being driven by 46-year-old Russell Patrick Stephenson of Jackson. He was located at a residence on Sunset Drive in Orleans about a half hour after the collision took place. Stephenson was arrested and charged with operating while intoxicated.
Police say Stephenson lost control of a 1995 Chevrolet Camaro as he was traveling east on 140th Street. Authorities say he missed a curve and collided with the pole, just west of the intersection with Sunset Avenue. The crash took out about the bottom two-thirds of the pole, leaving the upper third of it dangling by power lines.
Officials with Alliant Energy were called. A lift on a boom truck was used to suspend the rest of the pole and the wires until crews can make permanent repairs.
Spirit Lake police thank several citizens that assisted on the scene, along with the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office, Arnolds Park Police Department’s Canine Unit, Okoboji Police Department, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa State Patrol and Lakes Regional Healthcare Ambulance.
