A young woman drove a Toyota Tercel down a ditch and into an electrical pole Tuesday, downing power for 1,000 homes in Whitehorse.
The 21-year-old was driving along the Alaska Highway when she went off the road near a building close to the Whitehorse Airport.
On her way down the ditch, she snapped a guy wire connected to a power line.
“That caused the breaker to open up and caused a fault,” said Jay Massie, spokesperson for the Yukon Electrical Company Limited.
Power went out at 4:30 a.m. in Takhini, Kopper King, Hillcrest, Valleyview and the airport area, said Massie.
The woman refused to give a breathalyzer test when RCMP arrived, and she was taken to the Whitehorse General Hospital for cuts and bruises, said RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Don Rogers.
A charge of failing to provide a breath sample is pending, he said, and will be formally filed once the paperwork is done.
A breathalyzer test is used if the police have a reasonable suspicion that a driver may be drunk.
“We cannot prove she was drunk, but it is an offence to not provide a sample,” said Rogers.
It carries the same punishment as an impaired driving offence, he said.
The woman was released with a promise to appear in court September 16.
Power was restored by 5:15 a.m. (James Munson)