Police believe a hit-and-run driver caused the top of a 55-foot utility pole to snap off in Scarborough on Thursday night, sending wires across Route 1 and causing the closure of the busy four-lane highway.

Scarborough police said a witness told them that a white box-style truck backed into a pole on Millbrook Road, knocking the pole over and damaging the larger pole on Route 1.

The department’s Facebook page said police are treating the crash as a hit-and-run.

Route 1 was re-opened for all traffic Friday morning, police said, although crews were still on scene installing a new pole and completing repairs to the power lines.

The mess is in the heart of a congested commercial district between the entrance to the Scarborough Downs racetrack and the busy Oak Hill intersection.

Eric Berry, a dispatcher for Scarborough police, said a smaller utility pole on Millbrook Road – Millbrook intersects with Route 1 – broke in half and fell into the road around 7:15 p.m. The force of that pole collapsing broke off the top section of the 55-foot pole on nearby Route 1.

The pole on Route 1 is owned by FairPoint Communications, according to the company’s spokesman, Jeff Nevins.

“As soon as our crews get there, they will start working on the repairs,” Nevins said late Thursday.

Nevins was uncertain about how long the repairs would take, but conceded they could take several hours. He said Time Warner, Central Maine Power Co., Unitil, the Portland Water District and Oxford Telephone were notified about the damage.

Nevins said he had received no reports of service outages.

Gail Rice, a spokeswoman for CMP, said the downed utility poles did not disrupt electricity to Scarborough customers.

“There was no (long-lasting) outage, only a momentary bump in service,” she said.

Rice said CMP sent a team of five trucks and repair crews to Scarborough.

Police said Route 1 will not reopen until the various utility companies have had a chance to repair all of the downed wires and deem the area safe to travel in.

Related Stories