Sixty-six customers were left without power for more than three hours starting around 7 p.m. July 4 after a Ford F-150 struck a Florida Power & Light pole in Bradenton Beach.
The driver, Mark Joseph Devlin, 19, of Avon Park, was detained, cited with a 0.02 alcohol violation and released to his father, the owner of the truck, according to police reports.
Devlin told police a female passenger grabbed the wheel before the crash on the east side of the 2200 block of Gulf Drive, but the woman denies the allegation, Bradenton Beach Detective Sgt. Lenard Diaz said.
“She did have some vodka” and a “verbal dispute” with Devlin, Diaz said.
There were no skid marks.
Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach police, West Manatee Fire Rescue, FPL and Bright House Networks responded at about 7 p.m. to the crash scene.
Traffic was diverted from Gulf Drive during a three-hour road closure.
No injuries occurred, BBPD Officer John Tsakiri said.
Sarah Every of Tampa was among the bystanders. She observed power lines snap and a cacophony of sparks and flashes before first responders arrived.
“We were staying in a condo across the street,” said Every, who was standing on Gulf Drive a block north of the crash site.
“I was crossing to the beach side. I looked both ways so I didn’t get run over and saw him drive into the pole. There were no bicycles, no pedestrians and nobody else,” she said.
FPL media representative Nancy Hesford said power was restored to customers by 11 p.m.
HBPD Officer Mike Walker issued a .02 violation citation after Devlin provided breath samples that measured 0.139 and 0.137.
According to Florida law, underage drinkers cited with the violation receive a six-month driver’s license suspension. For a breath or blood alcohol content of more than 0.05, state law provides that the suspension remains in effect until a violator completes a substance abuse evaluation and course.
The impact from Devlin’s vehicle pushed the utility pole several feet, Diaz said.
FPL media spokesman Bill Orlove said the utility deemed the damaged pole safe enough to await a replacement pole, scheduled for a July 11 installation, when Gulf Drive was expected to be closed again for several hours. No customer outages were anticipated.
