A car accident knocked out two power poles in downtown Columbus at the corner of Courthouse St. and Mills Street at 8 a.m. Monday morning, Feb. 17.

The driver of the vehicle was interim Polk County Manager Marche Pittman.

Pittman was transported to Mission Memorial in Asheville by the Polk County Emergency Services. He was later released.

Pittman, who was driving his work vehicle, a 2014 Ford Explorer, was traveling east on Mills Street when he struck two power poles, which damaged three poles in total, according to police reports.

Duke Energy arrived on scene early because many residents and businesses reported power outages shortly after the wreck.

A text alert from the Town of Columbus was sent to residents saying, “Town wide power outage beginning at 10:15 a.m. for 8 hours.”

Power outages were reported as far as St. Luke’s Hospital, which utilized its back-up generator system until power was restored.

Power was restored to the St. Luke’s side of Columbus shortly after the power outage but power is expected to be out until the poles are repaired in most of Columbus, including downtown. Businesses were closed during the repairs.

The cause of the wreck is still under investigation.