Power -- Traffic -- Back To Normal After Day of Upset On Moraga Way

In what has become a relatively regular occurrence Moraga-Orinda Fire District crews report that an accident involving a pickup truck into a power pole Thursday night has knocked out power in the area of Moraga Way and Glorietta Boulevard in Orinda.

Orinda police said a Toyota pickup truck hit the power pole at the intersection of Moraga Way and Casa Vieja in Orinda at about 10:28 p.m. Thursday, shearing off the pole and knocking out power to the area. Officers searched the area for the driver of the Toyota but could not find him.

Moraga Way -- critical to the morning commute in Lamorinda -- was closed through the Friday morning commute while crews from the utililty agency attempted to make repairs. A PG&E spokeswoman estimated that repairs could last into the early evening.

Moraga Way was closed between Brookside and Glorietta in both directions throughout the day and into the night as utility crews fought to straighten out the tangle of power and communications lines at the top of the pole. Neighbors reported that the crews worked long into Friday night.

Some were sharply critical of the manner in which the incident was handled, saying that more effective traffic controls were needed to keep the flow of cars moving through the area or diverting them elsewhere entirely. A light commute hour still ended in frustration for thousands of drivers, some of whom expressed their displeasure here.

Anyone with any information on the truck or its driver is asked to call the Orinda Police Department.