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Fleeing Felon Crashes Truck, Causes Outage Leaving 4,000 Wyoming Residents Powerless

Power Protection FEATURED ARTICLE

Fleeing Felon Crashes Truck, Causes Outage Leaving 4,000 Wyoming Residents Powerless

 
August 29, 2012

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  By David Gitonga, TMCnet Contributing Writer

This past weekend was a nightmare for over 4,000 residents of Casper due to a power, Internet, phone and cable service outage. The culprit? Mr Vernon Wentz, a felon wanted in several Colorado counties for suspicion of possession of a controlled substance, burglary and property damage.


The incident occurred when Wentz tried to flee on Saturday night when his truck crashed, cutting a fiber optic line. The affected residents were customers of Rocky Mountain Power and Optimum (News - Alert). According to Rocky Mountain Power spokeswoman Margaret Oler, the damage was “substantial,” requiring both poles to be replaced. The impact damaged both overhead and underground lines, but Rocky Mountain Power was able to restore power to all but 105 customers within just a few hours. By Sunday afternoon, power had been restored to all customers completely.


Wentz also had three outstanding warrants, which could have been the motive for his aversion to police. After leaving Beacon Club in Mills on that Saturday night, a Mills officer noticed Wentz vehicle accelerating which drew his attention. Wentz declined the officer’s attempt to have him pull over and instead sped eastbound down West Yellowstone Highway and southbound into Casper on Poplar Street. Wentz then went across Center Street and crashed into two power poles near Dublin. He left his track and attempted to flee on foot but was soon apprehended and taken to Wyoming Medical Center for injuries.

 
car crash image via ShutterStock



On top of his three existing felonies, Wentz reports now include two more misdemeanor charges of eluding and reckless driving. Casper Police Department will opt to extradite him back to Colorado without adding any more charges. According to Lt. Mike Thompson of the Casper Police Department, the department had kept vigil at the hospital with cops sitting up there 24/7, doing shifts. Wentz was later booked upon release on Tuesday and taken to jail.

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Edited by Allison Boccamazzo
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