A DWI-related single-vehicle crash in Swainton, NJ, resulted in the driver being sent to the hospital with minor injuries as well as causing an area-wide power outage. Police handling the case say that the driver has been charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI). As a drunk driving defense attorney serving residents of New Jersey, I have seen the result of many such accidents.
In this case, the crash occurred, according to police reports, when a pickup truck belonging to Mathew Paschal of Cape May Court House, drifted off the southbound side of Route 9, leaving the roadway and crashing into two telephone poles that support several high voltage power lines in the area.
According to news reports, the accident occurred just before 6pm on New Year’s day when the 42-year-old driver’s Dodge pick-up left the roadway. Middle Township Police arrived at the scene not long after the accident and found the vehicle laying on the left side on the shoulder of the road. Tools and other equipment, apparently thrown from the vehicle’s bed area, were found lying near the crash site.
After assessing the situation, officers called for the Middle Township Fire Company and Rescue Squad, as well as AtlanticCare paramedics, to come to the accident scene. Fire department rescue crews worked to extract the driver from the damaged truck, after which he was treated and transported to Cape Regional Care hospital for minor injuries.
Repair crews from Atlantic Electric Company were also dispatched to the scene to replace the damaged high voltage power lines. Meanwhile, Paschal was charged by police with driving while intoxicated, careless driving and failure to maintain lanes. Civil penalties could also affect the man, whose actions allegedly caused a power outage that affected up to 1000 customers in the area.
Man charged with DWI in Middle Township crash that knocked out power in the area, PressOfAtlanticCity.com, January 2, 2010