Vehicle leaves road and clips utility pole knocking out power

A single vehicle auto accident on the north side of Jasper on Friday morning knocked out power to a large area. The crash occurred shortly before noon when a 2007 Dodge pickup truck that was headed southbound on Highway 96, for some unknown reason, left the highway in front of Lake Country Chevrolet and struck a utility pole, breaking it into. The accident caused the power lines on the pole and a transformer to drop to the ground, knocking out power to many businesses along Highway 96, basically north of Calvert Street The driver of the truck, Dustin Charette, 26, of Jasper, did not appear to be injured, but was immediately handcuffed by Jasper Police, who later said that he had been taken into custody on the suspicion of driving while intoxicated. The lines were down and power was off for some time until workers from the City of Jasper's Electrical Department could make the necessary repairs and restore power.