City Man Hits Porch, Utility Pole In Crash

A single-vehicle crash Sunday evening sent the car’s driver to the hospital, damaged a utility pole and a parked car — and destroyed a Lee Highway home’s front porch, police say. That’s right. A front porch.

 

Jonathan Johnson, 59, of Harrisonburg, was traveling around 55 mph on Lee Highway when he struck a utility pole, said Sgt. C.J. Akins with Virginia State Police. The posted speed limit at the scene of the crash is 35 mph.

 

He then veered into a car parked outside a home.

 

“The rear end of that car hit the corner of the house, and then the car that was driving struck the front porch area and kind of went off into some trees,” Akins said.

 

The porch was destroyed. No one inside the house was injured.

 

Johnson was transported to the University of Virginia Medical Center. The extent of Johnson’s injuries was not immediately known. The make and model of the vehicle he was driving also could not be confirmed. Akins said alcohol may have been a factor in the crash, and that speed was definitely part of the equation.

 

On Monday, the sergeant said charges were pending against Johnson.

 

Both the house that was struck and a neighboring residence lost power for a number of hours Sunday night as a result of the damaged utility pole.

 

The Virginia Department of Transportation blocked a portion of U.S. 11 for a few hours so Dominion Power employees could restore power to the two homes, said Akins.

 

Deputies from the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office also responded and assisted state police at the scene.

 

Contact Kaitlin Mayhew at 574-6290 or kmayhew@dnronline.com