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Woman calls Problem Solvers to help with downed utility pole blocking her home

Posted at 10:14 AM, Mar 24, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-24 10:15:23-04

RICHMOND, Va. -- For 26 days, Crystal Johnson has been trying to figure out a small, yet aggravating mystery. One day she returned home from work to find a huge utility pole in front of her Williamsburg Road home.

"The pole was blocking our fence. Had no idea who put it there," Johnson said. "Why didn't they just inform us they'd be back or indicate that they'd be back to replace it or something?"

Johnson said she has not been able to get a straight answer on who was responsible for removing the pole.

She said her home's location, along the Richmond-Henrico line, has made the situation more confusing.

"If you call one district, they'll tell you to call the other," she said. "It's back and forth."

The downed pole does not allow her to open her gate the normal way. In order to get to her car at the curb, she has to step over the pole which is too heavy for her family to move.

She said it was more than an inconvenience because of a medical condition.

"Some days I can walk fine and other days I'm in extreme pain when I walk. And that's the quickest way for me to get into my residence," she said.

Johnson said there was a sign on another pole near her home that indicated it needed to be replaced. Initially, she thought it was because of the weather.

"I believe that weekend we were supposed to have an ice storm, so we factored that in. But since then, we have had so many nice days and it's still here," she said.

The CBS 6 Problem Solvers took Johnson's concerns to both the City of Richmond and Dominion Energy. A few hours later, a crew arrived to remove the pole.