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MONETT, Mo. — A traffic accident caused a power outage Tuesday across much of the town of Monett.
Police Sgt. Dennis Camp said a pickup truck ran off the road near the intersection of Ninth and Dayton streets at 11:55 a.m. and hit the guide wires of a utility pole.
“That particular pole happens to be the linchpin for power in most of the town,” Camp said.
The accident caused a main transmission line to fail and power to go out across a majority of the town. City workers were able to get most of Monett back on line within an hour, but the town was not fully restored until about 2:30 p.m., Camp said.
The driver of the truck, Jerry C. Medlin, 84, of rural Monett, and a passenger were taken to Cox Monett Hospital.