Driver injured breaking off Charles City Main Street street light

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A man was injured in downtown Charles City Wednesday afternoon when his pickup crossed into the wrong lane of Main Street, clipped another vehicle and continued onto the sidewalk, where it broke off a street light and came to rest against a storefront.

The incident occurred around 12:45 p.m., starting in the 200 block of Main Street.

The pickup was traveling south when it apparently veered into the northbound lane in front of the Sherwin-Williams store and sideswiped an oncoming vehicle, folding back its mirror.

Charles City Police Chief Hugh Anderson said the vehicle continued through the Main Street/Clark Street intersection in the wrong lane, drove onto the sidewalk on the southeast corner, and snapped off the light pole at that corner. The vehicle missed the traffic signal light also on that corner.

The truck, a Chevrolet S10 pickup, continued down the east sidewalk until it came to rest against the exterior of the Elwood, O’Donohoe, Braun and White law offices, at 116 N. Main St.

Anderson said an initial call reporting the accident said the truck was on fire, but the apparent smoke was determined to be the gases emitted when both front air bags went off.

The truck had to be pulled away from the law office facade so an AMR ambulance crew could get into the driver’s side door to treat the man, who was alone in the vehicle.

The man was conscious and talking when he was taken into the ambulance, Anderson said, adding that it was possible the driver may have had some sort of medical episode while southbound on Main Street. The man’s name has not yet been released.

Main Street was closed from Clark Street to Riverside Drive for a little over an hour Wednesday afternoon until the scene was cleaned up and emergency vehicles left.

An electrician from Perry Novak Electric capped off the power lines that had been pulled out of the light pole when it was broken off, to make the site safe.

The Charles City Police Department, Charles City Fire Department, Floyd County Sheriff’s Office, Floyd County Emergency Management and AMR ambulance assisted at the scene.