PUTNAM COUNTY
The bridge over Lake Oconee on Old Phoenix Road was completely closed for a brief time Saturday night and then again on Monday morning.
In both instances, surrounding residences were without electricity because a pickup truck had crashed into a utility pole, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said.
“We had to shut the road down because there was no way that Tri-County EMC could put up the new pole with traffic on the road,” he said.
The crash happened a few minutes after 10 p.m. on Feb. 10. Timothy Joseph Waller, 34, of Eatonton, was traveling south on Old Phoenix in his 2012 Ford F-150.For an unknown reason, Waller reportedly crossed the center line and struck the front driver’s side fender area of a 2022 Dodge Ram 2500 being driven by Andrayus Jamiel Fluellen, 36, of Eatonton. The impact caused Fluellen to lose control of the Dodge Ram, go across the road and strike the guard rail of the bridge and the utility pole, according to Sills.
“It went right through the guard rail; I was surprised that it didn’t hold when he hit it,” he said. “If that utility pole wasn’t there, he’d have gone into the lake.”
Neither driver was injured or taken to the hospital, according to the wreck report. The damage to the utility pole caused it to lean and electricity was out in the area for a few minutes, Sills said.
“People called all day on Sunday because they thought the pole was going to fall,” he noted. “But Tri-County came out and checked it Sunday and said it wouldn’t fall and that they’d replace it Monday.”
Tri-County employees arrived Monday morning, and traffic had to be blocked in both directions while they worked to replace the broken utility pole. Sills said the road was closed “for a good portion of the day.”
Electricity was out during that time frame as well. No citation issues were reported for the crash.