COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A chase with law enforcement on Thursday night led to an internet outage for some schools in Columbia on Friday.
Two juveniles were in a chase with Boone County Sheriff’s deputies and crashed into a utility pole at Vandiver Drive and Oakland Gravel Road, according to BCSD spokesman Brian Leer.
Leer said the Columbia Police Department had previously tried to stop the vehicle twice and that it was involved in an earlier crash. Deputies saw the vehicle near Thornberry Drive and Oakland Gravel Road and pursued. No injuries were reported.
According to Leer, the driver had lost control of the vehicle near on Oakland Gravel Road near Holly Avenue and hit two utility poles.
Several Columbia Public Schools were affected with an internet outage. A spokesperson for the City of Columbia said the outage was caused by a car crash Thursday night with a utility pole at Vandiver Drive and Oakland Gravel Road.
According to Chief Communications Officer Michelle Baumstark, the buildings affected were Battle High School, Battle Elementary, Two Mile Prairie Elementary and the district transportation facility.
Baumstark said in an email it is an outage controlled by the City of Columbia and not district equipment. Service was restored by about 12:30 p.m.
City Utilities crews are working on the utility poles Friday and told ABC 17 News the crash impacted power and city fiber.
CPS classes are not being impacted by the outage. Baumstark said the primary impact is phones as the system requires the internet to work.
“We have notified families and provided an alternate contact phone number should families need to contact the schools with immediate needs,” Baumstark said in an email.
The first alert was sent from the district in a text message at 6:25 a.m. stating the internet was down at the bus facility. The district said they still had communication with the bus drivers as they are “operational without internet/phones.”
All of the schools impacted are in the Northeast part of Columbia, north of Interstate 70.
Columbia Fire Department Station 4 is located on Oakland Gravel Road, right next to where the crash occurred. Firefighters told ABC 17 News they were using a backup generator Thursday night and into Friday morning due to their phones, internet and power going out.
They said things turned back on about 10:30 Friday morning.
CFD Assistant Chief Jeff Heidenreich said in an email the only impact was on the department’s landline system. He said, “All dispatches were relayed as usual over the radio system, and cellular communications were still usable during the phone system outage.”
ABC 17 News has reached out to the City of Columbia and the Boone County Sheriff’s Office for more information.
Check back for updates as this story is developing.
Tyler Fields is your internet guru, delving into the latest trends, developments, and issues shaping the online world. With a focus on internet culture, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies, Tyler keeps readers informed about the dynamic landscape of the internet and its impact on our digital lives.
