Oh Deer, an Accident Saps Power on Purdy Hill Road

Residents in the Purdy Hill Road area temporarily lost power early Tuesday morning and the road was closed off for several hours after a pickup truck swerving to avoid a deer crashed into a utility pole, cracking it into pieces, taking energized power and telephone lines down with it and sparking a fire on the road.

Police said the accident occurred at 2:10 a.m., when Matthew Jenness, 23, of Rivendell Drive in Shelton was traveling east on Purdy Hill Road in his 2003 Ford Pickup truck at a high rate of speed.

A deer ran out in front of his truck near Woodlawn Drive and when Jenness swerved to avoid it, police said his truck went off the road and hit a fence, then the utility pole.

Monroe firefighters and utility crews were called to the scene. Police said Jenness was treated at the scene for minor injuries by Monroe EMS personnel and was not transported to the hospital.

The police investigation determined that Jenness was traveling at a high rate of speed and failed to correctly navigate a curve, police said. He was issued an infraction ticket for Traveling at an Unsafe Speed and Failure to Drive in the Proper Lane.