Suspected hit-and-run downs DeKalb utilities: police

DeKALB – Officials still are trying to determine the culprit behind damage to utilities found Friday morning at a DeKalb intersection.

An emergency alert from the city of DeKalb at 6:07 a.m. Friday announced the closure of the East Taylor and South Fourth streets intersection and asked the public to avoid the area.

DeKalb Police Chief David Byrd said the location, the subject of an ongoing investigation, is believed to be the result of a single-car, hit-and-run crash.

“The vehicle fled the scene. There was damage to the utility pole, which also caused some wires to hang,” Byrd said. “It could be a dangerous situation, of course, so we kept the lanes blocked in an effort to protect that area and any bystanders or anyone driving through until ComEd could come out and do some repairs.”

Because live, exposed wires were present at the scene, officials from the DeKalb Fire Department responded to the crash alongside DeKalb police officers.

About noon – six hours after the city became aware of the situation – repairs to the utilities were completed, and the road was completely reopened, Byrd said.

No injuries associated with the crash have been reported, but with no responsible party at the site, officials were unable to determine the status of anyone inside a vehicle they believe may have struck the damaged utilities.

Officials believe only one car was involved, but further details are murky, Byrd said.

“Right now, we do not [have any suspects or leads]. We’re going to check cameras that do a video canvas of the area and see what we can obtain from our video surveillance in that area,” he said. “So it’s an ongoing investigation.”