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DUI mishap knocks out power in Manteca
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A Stockton man was charged with driving under the influence after the vehicle he was driving skidded off the road early Thursday morning and took out a power pole on Airport Way. - photo by JASON CAMPBELL

A Stockton man was arrested early Thursday morning for driving under the influence after the pickup truck he was driving skidded off the road and took out a power pole on Airport Way.

And the police never even had to be called as the accident knocked out power to a quadrant of town that included the Manteca Police Department.

Officers responded to the accident on Airport Way – just 150-yards north of Louise Avenue – shortly after 1 a.m. to find Hugo Valdez-Sanchez standing next to his vehicle on the side of the road. The pickup, which had lost control on the wet road, slid into the guy wires that supported a power pole and knocked out power to a section  of West Manteca for nearly two hours.

Pacific Gas and Electric crews responded roughly 30 minutes after the accident occurred. Manteca Public Works streets division crews were called out to place four-way stop signs at the intersections that were left without working lights for the duration of the outage.

Valdez-Sanchez was arrested for driving under the influence and driving without a license. Neither he nor his passenger were injured. The Manteca Fire Department crew and the Manteca District Ambulance unit that responded to the scene left shortly after arriving.

The Police Department was temporarily left without power as a result of the accident. Backup generators eventually kicked on and gave the department electricity throughout the outage. Power was restored at around 3 a.m. Thursday.