Lawrence Police Department

This post was updated at 6:15 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023.

A single-vehicle crash resulted in a blown power transformer in south Lawrence on Sunday afternoon.

The incident was reported at approximately 1 p.m. after a vehicle collided with a utility pole while making a left-hand turn at West 31st Street and Lawrence Avenue. The driver was the sole occupant of the vehicle, according to Lawrence Police Department spokesperson Laura McCabe, and was taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital with minor injuries. 

McCabe added that Evergy was called to the scene to address its blown transformer. An Evergy outage map briefly showed reports of outages in the area around 4 p.m., but it is unknown if they were a result of the accident, and they appeared resolved by 5 p.m. However, the Journal-World received a tip later in the evening of outages still at some businesses in the area.

Mark Schuler, who owns the Culver’s at 2111 W. 33rd St., said the power was out at his business in the afternoon, but had returned by 4:15 p.m. Power was also observed at HomeGoods, 3311 Iowa St., at 6 p.m.