Paul Bass Photo
Anotonio Lopez was out in the frigid air on Central Avenue Monday morning extricating a Toyota Avalon from a pole — and watching his step.
Lopez, who works for Lombard Motors, was called with his tow truck to the scene of a crash on Central just south of Edgewood Avenue around 9:30 a.m.
A man who lives nearby “got distracted” and “looked down” while driving his Toyota Avalon, according to police Officer Steven Manware. Boom! The Toyota rammed into the base of a utility pole by the curb.
The man walked away from the crash without injuries, Manware said.
The pole was another matter.
“I hope it doesn’t fall!” Lopez remarked, looking up, before pulling the Avalon away.
It didn’t fall. But it won’t stand there long, figured Manware. He called AT&T, which owns the poll, to come take it down.
“The pole,” Manware reported, “is deceased.”
(Update: Tuesday 10:30 p.m.: According to the police, the driver, who is in his 50s, was issued a verbal warning for failure to drive in the proper lane.)
Was there no ticket issued for this distracted driver? AKA, using cell phone or texting? That pole could have been a kid. I know it's "funny" to say the pole is dead, but really that guy could have caused a human fatality. Why don't we see that the cops were called? What was his name? I believe in the usefulness of neighbor-shaming. (If he had been ticketed, we would have his name, correct?)
[Paul: I followed up. The driver, who is in his 50s, received a verbal warning for failure to drive in the proper lane, according to the police.]