Hazleton school van downs utility poles, knocks out power; driver injured

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DRUMS – Nearly 200 customers were without power for much of the afternoon and evening after a Hazleton Area school van struck a utility pole Thursday afternoon.

According to Butler Township Police, the crash happened around 4pm in the 100 block of West Butler Drive.

A school van, driven by Jeassy Molina Colon, 19, of West Hazleton, lost control and struck a utility pole, according to police. That pole and a second pole came down as a result of the crash.

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Molina Colon was injured and taken by Valley Regional EMS to a local hospital for treatment. She will be cited for the crash, police said.

She was the only person in the van, which was owned by Krise Transportation and contracted to Hazleton Area.

As of 1am, 77 people remained without power in the area, down from about 173.

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