A car slammed into a utility pole in San Rafael on Sunday afternoon, damaging infrastructure that supports cable and phone lines at a busy intersection. Thankfully, nobody got hurt.
The crash happened at West Francisco Boulevard and Andersen Drive. Utility crews needed about two hours to fix the mess and get everything running again, which meant closing the road for a while.
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Police say substances weren’t a factor here, but they’re still piecing together exactly what went wrong. This intersection in central Marin County has raised safety concerns before, so people are paying attention.
Details of the San Rafael Traffic Incident
Just around noon, San Rafael Police officers rushed to the intersection after getting reports of the crash. West Francisco Boulevard and Andersen Drive connect several major roads in southern San Rafael, so it’s a spot that sees a lot of action.
The utility pole took a beating and lost some cable and phone lines, but—oddly enough—the electric lines made it through unscathed. That could’ve been a whole different story.
The driver, according to officials, stayed at the scene and worked with first responders. Police confirmed that alcohol and drugs didn’t play a part, setting this incident apart from some recent crashes in places like Novato and Mill Valley.
Emergency Response and Traffic Impact
San Rafael emergency crews and utility workers showed up fast. They had to close the road for about two hours, which caused some headaches for drivers heading between central San Rafael and the Canal neighborhood.
People had to find their way around through Gerstle Park and Dominican while crews handled things. Local businesses on Francisco Boulevard felt a brief hit as utility teams did their work.
Unlike crashes earlier this year in Corte Madera and Larkspur, this one didn’t knock out the power for anyone nearby. The pole mostly handled telecommunications, not electricity.
Safety Concerns at San Rafael Intersection
This spot—West Francisco Boulevard and Andersen Drive—links Highway 101 with the industrial and commercial heart of eastern San Rafael. It’s always busy, a lot like the main drags in Sausalito or Tiburon, especially during the workweek rush.
Traffic safety advocates from around Marin County, including folks from Fairfax and San Anselmo, have flagged this intersection before. Sunday’s crash might finally push some action, though who knows how fast that’ll happen.
Ongoing Investigation and Next Steps
The San Rafael Police Department is still digging into what exactly led up to Sunday’s collision. They’ve already ruled out substances, but now they’re looking at other possibilities like mechanical problems with the vehicles, whether the driver was paying attention, and how visible the intersection actually is.
Marin County communities, from Greenbrae to Woodacre, have been rolling out different traffic safety efforts to try and cut down on crashes along busy streets. Whatever gets uncovered in this case will probably feed into future talks among San Rafael’s city planners and transportation folks.
If you know something about the collision or have worries about the intersection, the San Rafael Police Department wants to hear from you. Utility crews have finished up their first round of repairs, so phone and internet service is back to normal in central San Rafael and nearby areas.
Here is the source article for this story: Car Crashes Into Utility Pole In Marin County: Police
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