Thousands of people in Sun Valley were without power early Friday after a driver crashed into multiple power poles and a fire hydrant, sending several hundred feet of water over power lines.
A Chevrolet Avalanche was traveling at a high rate of speed in the 8100 block of Lankershim Boulevard (map) around 1 a.m. when the collisions occurred, according to Officer Alvarez with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Traffic Division.
When firefighters arrived at the scene, they were unable to locate the driver, according to Alvarez.
Access to the Avalanche was difficult for first responders because of water shooting across the live power lines.
Shortly after the crash, more than 3,200 people in the area were without power, according to Terry Schneider with the L.A. Department of Water and Power.
By 6:30 a.m., power had been restored to all but 1,140 customers, Schneider said.
Initially, service was expected to be fully restored by 8 a.m., but after crews encountered some difficulties, the estimated time was pushed back to noon.
Lankershim was shut down for hours in both directions for several blocks as a result of the crash.
No injuries have been reported.
The incident was being investigated by LADP’s Valley Traffic Division.
KTLA’s Geoff Peters and Justin Burton contributed to this report.