Browse
Log in / Register
Share
A car left the roadway on Upper Depew Avenue in Central Nyack on Sunday afternoon, May 10, 2026, and struck a utility pole, forcing a temporary road closure and knocking out power in the immediate area. The damaged pole blocked part of the street while emergency crews and utility workers responded. By later Sunday, the road had reopened, and Orange & Rockland no longer reported any outages tied to the crash.
The driver was not charged, according to authorities. No additional information about the driver's condition or whether anyone in the vehicle was injured was immediately released. The crash remained under investigation as crews focused on stabilizing the pole and restoring service to nearby homes.
Upper Depew Avenue is a residential street in Central Nyack, running near well-traveled parts of Rockland County. The crash happened during the afternoon, a time when neighbors were likely home and local traffic was moving through the area. The vehicle went off the road, crossed a short stretch of shoulder, and hit a utility pole hard enough to move the pole out of its normal position.
The impact caused the pole to lean into the travel lane. That forced police and road crews to close the immediate section of Upper Depew Avenue while they assessed whether the pole was stable. A utility pole in that condition can bring down power lines or create a hazard for passing vehicles, so the closure gave workers room to handle the problem safely.
News 12 Westchester traffic cameras caught the scene as crews arrived. The images showed utility bucket trucks, police vehicles, and workers gathering around the damaged pole. Part of the roadway was blocked, and drivers were being turned around or directed away from the area. The road remained closed for a period while repair work was done.
Orange & Rockland, the utility serving the area, listed an outage in the zone near the crash site shortly after the incident. Crews were dispatched to check the pole, reconnect equipment, and make sure there were no live wires on the ground. The outage appeared to be contained to a small section of the neighborhood, but residents nearby were without service until repairs were completed.
Once workers secured the damaged pole and cleared the equipment, the closure was lifted. Upper Depew Avenue reopened to traffic later in the afternoon. Orange & Rockland’s outage map no longer showed any active outages in the immediate area, meaning power had been restored to customers who lost electricity during the crash.
The quick reopening suggests the pole damage was serious enough to close the road but not to cause a long-term outage. Utility crews in the Hudson Valley often prioritize this type of repair because a leaning pole can be a danger to pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. With the pole stabilized and the road clear, normal traffic patterns returned.
Authorities did not say whether the vehicle had to be towed or how fast the driver was going. The lack of charges could mean the crash is being treated as an accident, but police may still file citations after the investigation is complete. In New York, charges related to a single-vehicle crash are often delayed until officers finish reviewing evidence such as skid marks, witness statements, and any available camera footage.
Utility poles are common along older roads in Rockland County, especially in residential neighborhoods like Central Nyack. Many are placed close to the curb, leaving little room for error when a car drifts off the road. Crashes involving utility poles are taken seriously because they can disrupt power, tear down communication lines, and cause traffic tie-ups beyond the original accident site.
This crash also shows how a simple car-versus-pole incident can create a domino effect. One vehicle left the road, hit a pole, lost power for nearby houses, and forced the street to shut down for several hours. Drivers on Upper Depew Avenue had to find alternate routes, and residents had to wait for crews to restore electricity.
For anyone driving on narrow local roads, safety experts recommend slowing down, especially in the afternoon when visibility can change and children are more likely to be outside. Residential streets are not designed for high speeds, and a momentary distraction can be enough to send a car off the pavement and into a fixed object.
If a driver hits a utility pole, safety guidelines say to stay inside the vehicle until help arrives. A damaged pole can bring down live wires, and stepping out could create a serious risk of electrocution. Drivers should call 911 immediately and wait for police and utility crews to assess the scene.
People nearby should avoid touching any downed wire or anything the wire is resting on, such as a fence, tree branch, or puddle. They should also keep other people and pets away from the area and report the location to the police. Even if a wire looks harmless, it may still be live.
In this case, the crash was handled quickly and no outages remained by the time the road reopened. Still, the incident is a reminder that utility infrastructure can be fragile. A single crash can interrupt service for multiple customers, close a street, and require a coordinated response from police, tow crews, and utility workers.
Police have not released the driver’s name, and no details have been given about whether the driver was injured. According to local reporting, no charges have been filed against the driver. That could change if the investigation finds evidence of unsafe driving, such as excessive speed, distracted driving, or impairment.
Although the road is open again and power has been restored, the case remains active. Authorities will likely review traffic camera images, speak with the driver, and determine a cause. For neighbors and commuters, the visible signs of the crash are already gone. The damaged pole has been handled, the road is clear, and Central Nyack is back to normal.
News 12 will continue to follow this story as more information becomes available. Anyone who witnessed the crash or has information can contact local police in Orangetown, which has jurisdiction over the Central Nyack area.
