An early-morning crash in downtown Phoenix left part of the city in the dark and commuters scrambling after a wrong-way driver collided with a power pole that supplies energy to the Valley Metro light rail.
Police said the crash occurred just after 3 a.m. Sunday near 17th and Washington streets. The car, traveling the wrong way on a westbound stretch of road, slammed into a pole supporting the rail’s electrical system. Before emergency crews arrived, the driver ran from the scene, leaving the vehicle behind.
The impact caused an extensive outage that temporarily halted light rail operations between the 12th and 24th Street stations. Valley Metro warned riders on X (formerly Twitter) around sunrise that trains were stopped and directed passengers to board instead from Jefferson Street stops nearby.
Crews worked through the morning to repair damaged lines and restore service. Power was returned to the affected stations around 9:15 a.m., though riders continued facing delays of up to half an hour as trains resumed normal schedules.
Police said no injuries were reported, but the collision left significant infrastructure damage. Investigators are still working to locate the driver and determine what led to the wrong-way crash.
