WELLMAN

Wellman residents lost power about 9 p.m. Saturday evening thanks to a vehicle striking a utility pole on Ginkgo Avenue. Both driver and passenger were transported to the University of Iowa Emergency Room with injuries.

According to the accident report, Charmain Bartlett and David Aldrich, both of West Chester, were traveling southbound on Ginkgo Avenue near 140th Street when their vehicle crossed the centerline and went off the road to the left, entered the ditch, became airborne, and struck a utility pole. The force of the impact cut the Jeep Cherokee in half, and it landed right-side up, with the driver and front passenger trapped inside.

Washington County Sheriff’s deputies extricated the pair through both mechanical and nonmechanical means, the report indicates. They were taken to the hospital by Washington County Ambulance and Wellman Volunteer Ambulance services.

The totaled vehicle was salvaged by Bulltown Towing and Repair.

As the accident remains under investigation, causal factors are not yet known. The accident report indicates dark, slightly foggy, unlit and wet road conditions on the evening of Jan. 27.

Power was not restored to the city until early Sunday morning.