A car smashed into a power pole on Chapel Rd in Flat Bush, knocking out power to the surrounding area. Photo / Pavan Prasad
A crash in the Auckland suburb of Flat Bush overnight left thousands of residents without power - with some still in the dark this morning.
The single-vehicle accident happened on Chapel Rd next to Sancta Maria college just before 11.30pm.
Emergency responders including police and firefighters were at the scene, where a car ploughed into a power pole - bringing the pole down onto the vehicle.
A police spokeswoman said the driver appeared to be in shock but she was not aware of any injuries.
It's thought around 5000 properties have been affected, although electricity company Vector said it redirected power flows for some customers within 30 minutes of the outage.
The crash occurred in the only section of Chapel Rd with overhead power lines, between Stancombe and Ormiston Rds.
A Vector spokesperson said around 7am crews were onsite installing a new power pole, which is currently being tested.
Power was expected to be fully restored by 9am.
More to come.
A selection of cartoons from Herald cartoonist Rod Emmerson over the past year