Richard Scheidle, 22, was driving westbound on Foothill Boulevard approaching Casa Street while allegedly texting on his cell phone. His Toyota Camry left the roadway and collided with a PG&E power pole on the north sidewalk next to Mustang Village Apartments, according to the San Luis Obispo Police Department.
The collision sheared the power pole at the base, causing the pole and power lines to fall across Foothill. PG&E crews and San Luis Obispo Fire personnel established a safe area around the “hot” power lines.
Power in the area was severed to several complexes including buildings on Cal Poly campus.
Scheidle sustained minor injuries as a result of the collision and is being treated at a San Luis Obispo hospital. No one else was in the vehicle at the time of the collision and no one else was injured.
According to a San Luis Obispo Police Department press release, this collision also resulted in a structure fire to a nearby apartment building at 1111 Foothill Blvd., caused when circuit breaker box grounded out.
Foothill between California and Casa will be closed to through traffic while repairs are being made to the pole and transformer.
According to PG&E crew members, the power will be restored by 10:30 to 11 p.m. tonight.
Well hopefully somebody learned their lesson, and it’s a good thing nobody died in the process.
The fire was actually in 1111 E. Foothill Blvd, not 1127.
I can’t believe people are this stupid…texting while driving? really??
was it so important it couldn’t wait till you reached your destination or a red light?
No matter how much you educate people about this, there’s always morons who still do it.. and usually the person who gets harmed in the process is not the guilty one. Luckily no one else was hurt in this.. Every time I see someone in the lane next to me on their phone, I try to pass them up as quickly as I can..
Seriously, don’t ever do this, but I guess it’s not until something happens to you that you actually learn your lesson..