Chapel Hill police are advising drivers to avoid a section of Franklin Street near Park Place where a car accident occurred earlier this afternoon. The single-vehicle crash happened shortly after 2:30 p.m. and took down power lines in the road.
The section of Franklin Street between Park Place and Boundary Street will remain closed until Duke Energy crews can remove the lines.
Sgt. Joshua Mecimore, spokesman for the Chapel Hill police department, said the cause of the crash was unknown.
“All I know is that a single passenger vehicle struck a power pole and it snapped the pole,” Mecimore said. “And when the pole came down, power lines came down across the street.”
He said only the driver of the car was injured in the incident.
“Last I heard was that she had minor injuries and she was transported to UNC Hospitals,” he said.
Mecimore estimated the road would remain closed for at least another two hours. He said drivers near East Franklin Street should avoid the area.
“The street is completely blocked, and all side streets that you would use to get around that area are quite congested and effectively blocked by traffic right now,” he said. “We’re encouraging people to find alternate routes.”
Pedestrians are also advised to stay clear of the area and avoid contact with crash debris or downed lines.
