Accident Causes WOC Power Outage

WEST OCEAN CITY - Power
was knocked out for a vast area of West Ocean City early Thursday morning when
a driver swerved to miss a deer on Route 611 and collided with an electrical
transformer box.

Around 1:30 a.m.
yesterday, a vehicle traveling northbound on Route 611 at its intersection with
Route 376 near Sharkey's Market allegedly swerved to avoid a collision with a
deer in the roadway and went off the road and struck a Choptank Electric transformer
box. The collision knocked out electric power service for much of the
surrounding area.

The Berlin Fire
Department responded to the scene, as did Choptank Electric repair crews, due
to the high-voltage power box arcing blue sparks throughout the immediate area.
Choptank crews worked through the early morning hours and eventually restored
power to the area by rerouting the current through another source.

However, many in the
area were without power for several hours. The driver of the vehicle, an unidentified
juvenile from Harford County, was charged with negligent driving.