HONOLULU (KHON2) — A car crash in Maili has left approximately 3,160 Hawaiian Electric customers in Nanakuli without power.
The crash happened just before 2 p.m. on Tuesday when a female driver in her 30s struck a pole on Paakea Road.
Six Honolulu Fire Department units responded to the scene around 2:09 p.m. to find the vehicle “resting on power lines and reportedly on fire, along with the adjacent brush.”
HFD controlled the fire by 2:17 p.m., stabilized the vehicle and “used battery-powered hydraulic rescue tools to extricate the occupant” a few minutes later.
Honolulu Emergency Medical Services said the driver suffered severe second and third-degree burns and has been transferred to an emergency room in serious condition.
According to HECO spokesperson Darren Pai, HECO is in the process of restoring power to customers, with some already restored.
The Department of Transportation also revealed that traffic signals are down on Farrington Highway due to the outage.
A road closure has been initiated for Paakea Road from Maiiliili to Hakimo for first responders and HECO to conduct the investigation.
Pai advises customers to refer to HECO’s social media or it’s power outage map for more information and updates on restoration times.