Car Crash Shuts Down Parts of Ringgold Road

EPB crews work to restore power to businesses and homes in the 3300 block of Ringgold Road, Saturday morning, following a single car crash which took out a power pole.

A single car accident Saturday morning on Ringgold Road sent two people to the hospital, knocked power out to a number of businesses and homes and shut down westbound traffic for several hours.

According to Sgt. Scott Butcher of the East Ridge Police Department, the driver of a Pontiac Bonneville lost control while traveling west bound and struck a power pole in the 3300 block of Ringgold Road in front of the American Legion Post 95. The impact of the car splintered the pole, dropping power lines across both lanes of westbound traffic.

The occupants of the vehicle, a man and a woman, were rushed to Erlanger Hospital. Their conditions are unknown at this time, officials said.

“That’s the worst crash I’ve seen in a long time,” Sgt. Butcher said while reviewing photos taken at the scene of the 8 a.m. crash.

Sgt. Butcher said crews from EPB responded quickly to the scene. Officials said the downed lines resulted in loss of power at three intersections on Ringgold Road. It also shut down power to a number of homes and businesses in the immediate area.

Police shut down the west bound lanes on Ringgold Road at Germantown Road to reroute traffic around the affected area. East bound traffic was not affected by the traffic accident.

It is not known how long the west bound lanes will be closed.

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.