Car falls into hole in downtown Windsor leading to widespread power outage

Emergency crews are working to repair a widespread power outage in Windsor, Ont.’s downtown core after a car fell into a hole and damaged utility infrastructure.

The incident happened Tuesday afternoon in an alley off Park Street between Ouellette Avenue and Pelissier Street.

The Windsor Police Service reports the area will remain closed until further notice due to a blown transformer.

Park St. reopened around 1 a.m. Wednesday. 

According to Enwin, a vehicle was parked atop a hydro vault which caused the grate and pavement to give way. 

"That grate was never intended for parking. There were barricades there at one point, but they're not there now," explained VP of Hydro Operation at Enwin, Jim Brown. 

According to EnWin’s outage map, there are 292 customers in the downtown area affected. A further 14 customers were affected in the Walkerville area, but hydro has since been restored.

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens posted on social media and said hydro and communication services are impacted and more updates are expected.

"We have to get the car out of the vault first and then have a look at the damage. From what we can tell, just about everything in the vault is damaged and will need to be completely replaced," Brown explained.

This is a developing story, more to come.

— With files from CTV News Windsor's Travis Fortnum

Developing situation in downtown Windsor involving an accident. Be advised that hydro and communication services are affected in the core. Updates will be provided when they become available. pic.twitter.com/8K1lIFbNWd

— Drew Dilkens (@drewdilkens) September 19, 2023