CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — A single-vehicle crash late Monday night brought down multiple power poles near the Wawa off Midlothian Turnpike and Research Road, shutting down the road and nearby businesses for about 12 hours. No injuries were reported.
Witnesses described the moment the poles came down.
"We were walking and we had a big group with us and all of a sudden, I hear BAM, and I see this huge blue spark," Gary Winthorp said.
The closure forced drivers onto a detour through the Wawa parking lot. Some drivers said their reroute added 30 minutes to their commute.
"It's insanity. I've never seen a big closure like this on Midlothian Turnpike," Debra Odell said. "Since it's a main artery for everyone in the Midlothian area, it's pretty awful."
The scene at Wawa featured bumper-to-bumper traffic, drivers funneling through the closed gas station parking lot, and one man who took on the task of directing traffic.
Many businesses were impacted by the traffic or loss of power. Todd Masinter works at Recharged next to Wawa. Masinter says when he arrived around 7:30am they had power, but operations were slow due to the parking lot backups.
"It's really challenging getting our vehicles. We do all the electric vehicle reconditioning for our company and getting all the vehicles in and out has been really challenging this morning," Masinter said.
For many drivers, the delay meant scrapping their plans entirely.
"I have my two-month-old in the back and we were just doing errands and just go like bop around in stores and now I think we are going to go home instead," one driver said.
Crews worked for about 12 hours to restore power lines and reopen the turnpike. Power has since been restored to businesses in the area. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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