UPDATE, 8:47 a.m.: From the California Highway Patrol:

On the morning of Thursday, September 17, a driver received minor injuries after losing control of the vehicle and colliding into a PG&E power pole.

Just after 2:00 am., 23 year old Forrest Anthony Hale of Arcata was driving a 2001 Toyota Tacoma on Old Arcata Road north of Bayside Cuttoff.  For reasons still under investigation Hale lost control lost control of the Toyota.  The vehicle collided into a PG&E power pole causing a power outage and blocking Old Arcata Road.  Hale was transported from the scene by ambulance and taken to St. Joseph Hospital for minor injuries.  Alcohol is being investigated as a factor in this collision.

Both lanes of Old Arcata Road were blocked due to the collision.  PG&E is hoping to have one way traffic control open by 8am and having Old Arcata Road completely open by noon.  Anyone who may be traveling in the area of Old Arcata Road is recommended to use an alternate route to avoid delays.  The California Highway Patrol Humboldt Area is investigating this traffic collision.

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Don’t take Old Arcata this morning!

The Outpost’s CHP bot informs us that a car went into a telephone pole on Old Arcata Road just after 2 a.m. today, putting lines down across the roadway. An occupant of the vehicle suffered only minor injuries.

Power went out for some 789 PG&E customers. When PG&E arrived on the scene, they told the highway patrol that they’d need to close Old Arcata between Jacoby Creek Road and Bayside Cutoff until about noon in order to repair the damage. At this writing, some 59 customers are still without power

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