Accident Causes OC Power Outage

OCEAN CITY - A local man faces several hit-and-run charges this week for leaving the scene of an accident after colliding with stabilizing wires on an electric utility pole, knocking out power for much of the resort Wednesday afternoon and into the night.

Ocean City police responded to a hit-and-run traffic crash Wednesday afternoon around 4:39 p.m.  Witnesses told police a man in a pickup truck collided with several wires stabilizing a Delmarva Power utility pole at 2^nd Street and Philadelphia Avenue. The collision caused power lines to fall across the roadway, creating a power outage traveling all the way to 53^rd Street.

The power was not restored until 10 p.m. The outage disabled traffic signals in much of the resort, creating huge back-ups all afternoon and into the night.

Witnesses reported that the driver left the area after striking the wires.  Police located the 1002 Ford F-150 parked at 3^rd Street and the bay.  The driver fled the area.

Officers attempted yesterday to locate the owner of the truck who lives in Berlin.  They were not able to locate him at his house. Shortly before 2 p.m., the owner/driver of the truck, Robert Chester, 42, turned himself in to police.  He was charged with three hit-and-run charges, which are all must-appear traffic offenses.