BRIEFLY.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Stolen car hits utility pole, knocks out power

A car reported stolen in Douglas County struck and toppled a power pole Sunday night, knocking out a transformer and four distribution lines in Eugene's Harlow neighborhood, police said.

More than 200 Eugene Water & Electric Board customers were affected by the outage, according to EWEB spokesman Marty Douglass. Power was restored to some customers within two hours of the incident, but about 180 customers within a quarter-mile radius of the accident scene were expected to be without power until early this morning, Douglass said.

The 5:41 p.m. accident occurred at North Garden Way and Hickory Avenue, said Eugene police Lt. Kel Williams.

A passing motorist who called 911 reported seeing two people running from the teal Mazda MX-3 coupe after the accident, Williams said. The witness described one of the occupants as a barefoot white female, 5 feet 6 inches tall, with a brown blouse, brown umbrella and a ponytail. The second occupant was described as a stocky white male wearing a brown coat. The pair were last seen running north toward Harlow Road, Williams said.

A Springfield police dog unit was dispatched to the area but was unable to locate the pair, Williams said.

Traffic lights were disabled at Palomino Drive and Harlow Road, North Garden Way and Harlow Road, South Garden Way and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and Kinsrow Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Williams said.