Vehicle crashes, splits power pole west of Battle Ground (with video)

A single-vehicle crash west of Battle Ground split a power pole early Monday, causing about 1,000 customers to briefly lose power.

Alexedsandr N. Mikhaylyuk, 30, was driving a 2010 Toyota Camry north on Northeast 72nd Avenue when he left the roadway and struck a power pole just south of Northeast 219th Street, Clark County Fire & Rescue spokesman Tim Dawdy said.

“He was coming home from work and he believes he fell asleep,” Clark County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Fred Neiman said. There’s no suspicion that the crash was caused by speed or that alcohol was involved, he said.

The crash occurred just after 7 a.m., two blocks from one of the fire agency’s stations. “Our firemen actually heard the accident, so it was very fast response,” Dawdy said.

The severed power pole caused some fire in nearby trees, but fire personnel quickly put out the small blaze after Clark Public Utilities crews responded and turned off the power. More than 1,000 customers in La Center and Ridgefield experienced an outage for less than an hour.

Dawdy said that Mikhaylyuk was transported to Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center, but a spokesman for the hospital said he was not listed as a patient.

View a video of the car after the crash on The Columbian’s YouTube Channel.