Power restored in East Providence after crash; 4 injured
by: Sarah Doiron
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — An investigation is underway after a crash in East Providence left four injured and knocked out power to the vast majority of the Riverside neighborhood.
East Providence Battalion Chief Joe Crowshaw told 12 News firefighters rushed to Forbes Street just after 8 p.m. following reports of a two-car crash that took down a utility pole.
Crowshaw said both vehicles were heavily damaged and a nearby tree had caught fire from the downed power lines. That fire eventually spread to the vehicle that had slammed directly into the utility pole but was quickly extinguished, he added.
12 News’ Power Outage Database showed nearly 3,000 East Providence residents without power as a result of the crash shortly after it happened. As of Tuesday morning, all power has been restored.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, but Crowshaw believes speed shouldn’t be ruled out.
“There’s no way to do this much damage without a lot of speed,” he explained. “I don’t have an estimate [on how fast the drivers were going], but they had to be going pretty fast.”
Crowshaw said two residents who live nearby “did what good Townies do” and pulled those who were injured from the damaged vehicles.
Two people were transported to Rhode Island Hospital and two were brought to Hasbro Children’s Hospital. Another passenger in one of the cars, who Crowshaw said is a juvenile, was not injured and picked up by her parents.