West Valley schools delayed after vehicle crashes into pole, knocking out power

An early Tuesday morning vehicle crash in Spokane Valley damaged a power pole, knocking out power for more than 1,000 homes, closing almost a mile of North Argonne Road and delaying the start of class in the West Valley School District.

Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the collision near East Wellesley Avenue just after 1 a.m. Tuesday morning and arrested the driver, Anthony F. Garfias, 22, who was uninjured, for driving under the influence, according to a news release.

North Argonne Road between Upriver Drive and Columbia Drive was closed to all traffic while Avista crews repaired the pole and power lines, according to a news release. The road reopened at 7:30 a.m.

Avista initially said about 1,500 homes near Pasadena Park were without power, KHQ reported. Nearly 1,200 homes did not have electricity as of 8 a.m., and repairs were expected to take another hour.

Due to the power outage and road closure, all West Valley schools were put on a 2-hour delay, the district announced.

“About half our kids from Centennial Middle School and West Valley High school are from bus routes that we couldn’t get to, so we decided to go for a 2-hour delay,” Superintendent Gene Sementi said. “Anything else we felt like would have caused a lot of confusion.”

Sementi said administrators determined alternate routes around the road closure might have been unsafe for buses to travel. That also would have delayed buses that drop off students at multiple schools throughout the morning, he said.