Accidents Knock Out Power In West Ocean City

WEST OCEAN CITY -- Bustling pre-holiday weekend traffic in West Ocean City was snarled last Saturday afternoon after a pair of accidents on Route 611 within an hour of each other knocked out power in the immediate area for several hours.

Around 1:30 p.m. last Saturday, a large, extended cab pick-up truck with a cap was heading northbound on Route 611 approaching Sunset Ave. when it veered off the roadway and collided with a utility pole, snapping the pole in half and leaving it dangling by its wires. According to Maryland State Police Trooper G. Elgin, who was on the scene, the vehicle was driven by a 15-year-old juvenile with a learner’s permit who had his father in tow as a passenger.

“He was heading north on Route 611 near the Greene Turtle when his dad told him to prepare to make a right turn on Sunset Ave.,” Elgin said this week. “I guess he panicked a little and locked up the breaks before veering off the roadway and into the utility pole.”

Both the young driver and his father were uninjured in the collision. The snapped-off pole caused a power outage in the immediate area including residential neighborhoods and numerous businesses. Delmarva Power crews responded quickly and replaced the pole and got the electricity turned back on in the area within a couple of hours.

“It was a tough lesson learned for the young driver, but thankfully everybody was okay and there were no injuries,” said Elgin. “This happens from time to time with young drivers with learner’s permits.”

That accident occurred less than an hour after another two-vehicle accident on Route 611 near the entrance to the Food Lion shopping center. Around 12:30 p.m., a vehicle heading south on Route 611 attempted to make a left turn into the shopping center when it collided with a northbound vehicle. The two vehicles had to be pulled apart although the sole occupants in both vehicles were not injured, according to Elgin.

The accident snarled traffic in both directions during a busy mid-day Saturday as the wreckage was cleared. Many motorists heading north on Route 611 made U-turns in the highway while the accident was being cleared, while others were re-routed by police through the adjacent Teal Marsh shopping center on the opposite side.