Van topples power pole; driver hurt.

Byline: SUSAN PALMER The Register-Guard

An early morning accident that sounded like an explosion left a man critically injured and shut down traffic at Barger Drive and Belt Line Road for most of the day Friday.

The one-car accident occurred just before 7 a.m. when Ryan Stanley Miller, 26, of Cornelius, lost control of his van and slammed into a concrete power pole, sheering it off and bringing down a 150 kilovolt transmission line.

Miller was driving south on Belt Line and took the Barger off-ramp when he hit the power pole in the grassy area between Belt Line and the off-ramp, Eugene Police Department spokeswoman Pam Alejandre said.

The first callers reported an explosion, Alejandre said. Police arrived to find the power lines down across the off-ramp, Barger Drive and the northbound on-ramp, Alejandre said.

While power flickered briefly in the area, it didn't go out, EWEB spokesman Lance Robertson said. A device much like a ground fault interrupter detects breaks in a line and transfers power to backup lines, Robertson said.

A Lane Transit District bus drove over the downed wires after the accident, and an investigation was being conducted into whether the driver violated safety policies, LTD representative Cosette Rees said.

It wasn't clear what time the bus driver crossed the lines or how many people were on board, Rees said.

Robertson wasn't certain how long the line would have stayed live after it went down.

Traffic was blocked in both directions on Barger Drive until about 2 p.m. The southbound off-ramp and northbound on-ramp were also blocked until close to 4 p.m. while EWEB crews worked on repairs.

That work should be completed by the end of the day Monday, Robertson said. The concrete pole snapped off about 5 feet above the point of impact. It will have to be dug out and replaced. The remaining portion is sunk into the ground about 18 feet. Cost of repairs is estimated at about $10,000, not including the replacement cost of the pole, Robertson said.

Miller was listed in critical condition Friday night at Sacred Heart Medical Center's intensive care unit with multiple injuries to his legs and left arm.

The accident is still under investigation. It wasn't clear why Miller lost control of the van or how fast he was driving at the time of the accident, Alejandre said.