Tens of thousands of hydro customers – while Quebec was left in the dark, two drivers were arrested by police in a collision that caused a rare downed power pole on the south coast Saturday evening, the day after the crash.
• Read more: Bus hits pole: Fewer than 10,000 customers still without power in Monterey
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According to our information, the driver of the Monterey Deputy Firefighters Association bus was arrested on Sunday for dangerous driving. He is a deputy firefighter.
For his part, the driver of the other vehicle involved, a car, was arrested, but in his case for impaired driving, again according to our sources.
The marriage was interrupted
At around 9:45 p.m. Saturday, the bus left the road at the corner of Chemin Chambly and Highway 30, hit a car and ended up on a high-voltage line.
It caused major power outages for more than 88,000 Hydro-Québec customers, particularly in Brossard and other neighboring towns.
“It’s very rare. A road accident toppling a power pole, we’ve never seen this before,” said Jonathan Cote, a spokesman for Hydro-Québec.
Among these clients was Chez Lionel, a restaurant in Quartier DIX30 due to a wedding that drew more than a hundred people.
Fortunately, the bride and groom didn’t let it spoil their evening, testifies the evening’s DJ, Gabriel Duquette.
“They said to themselves: it’s hot, our gang is the same here, the bar is open.”
About half of the guests decided to leave, but about fifty stayed to continue dancing in the dark.
“With a cell phone and Bluetooth speaker. We still managed to have a small dance floor, Mr. Duquette says. Party in the dark, they thought it was pretty cool.
in the heat
The outage continued for much of Sunday while Hydro-Québec crews worked on the necessary repairs.
Mario Beauregard/Agence QMI
Due to this, many businesses were closed and many citizens who were facing the scorching heat had a headache.
Mayor Doreen Assad announced on Facebook that access to municipal swimming pools was also suspended as temperatures approached 30 degrees Celsius in the afternoon.
“Of course it’s not easy for the rest of us, we have two cats […] So I poured some cold water on them Newspaper Louisa built and met her at the door. Electricity is beautiful, but something happens […] Everyone is paralyzed.
Louisa Gatti
Photo by Laurent Lavoie
Finally around 5pm citizens were gradually able to restore power.
– With Maxime Deland, QMI Agency
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