02/16/2026 – At 0106 hours Eastern Berks Regional Police requested fire for a non-injury accident in 200 block of South Reading Avenue in the Borough of Boyertown. Police reported a single vehicle accident and a pole was sheared with wires down. Upon arrival it was determined the vehicle lost control and was on the sidewalk and sideswiped one utility pole and continued till striking a second utility pole and shearing it off. The impact took out approximately an 8’ section of the pole and the remaining pole was suspended in the air by the wires. The wires were still intact to the residences affected, however there was one electric service line laying on a residence roof, and several communication lines were down. Personnel secured the area and contacted the utility company to respond. With no ETA provided by the utility company, the decision was made between the police and fire officers that the roadway should be shutdown to traffic due to pole actually suspended partially in the lane of traffic and the wires hanging low across the roadway and the potential of them being struck by a truck. Barricades were erected closing the roadway to divert all traffic until the utility company can make the necessary repairs. The company was then released and placed available at 0225 hours.
Reminder that if there are barricades erected on roadways with detour or road closed signs, do not move or drive around the barricades. They were placed there for a purpose to assure the safety of residents and commuters. There were vehicles driving around the barricades as soon as they were erected, even before we cleared the scene.
