Rt. 412 Closed Due to Crash, Leithsville Area Loses Power

Note: This breaking news story has been updated with additional information.

Several hundred PPL customers in the Leithsville area of Lower Saucon Township were without power Wednesday afternoon, and the outage was apparently triggered by an accident on a main road in the area.

According to PPL’s outage center map, the cause of the outage was a tripped breaker or blown fuse.

Lower Saucon Township Police Department, however, issued an alert via its email notification system around 4:15 p.m. stating that Rt. 412 (Leithsville Road) is currently closed between Flint Hill and Apples Church roads due to an accident “with wires down.”

PPL is responding to the scene, the message said.

A photo taken at the scene shows a vehicle that appears to be a white sedan completely off the road, with a utility pole sheered nearly in half. A piece of the pole can be seen dangling from the wires overhead.

The cause of the accident is unknown, but winter weather is currently affecting the area, with many roads covered by snow and/or ice. A winter weather advisory for snow and ice is in effect through 6 a.m. Thursday.

As of 4:15 p.m., 319 customers in the area along Rt. 412 immediately to the south of Hellertown were without electricity, according to PPL.

Power should be back on for those customers by 7 p.m., the company estimated.

A reader reported that power is currently out at the Giant Food Store and elsewhere in the Creekside Marketplace shopping center, which is near the crash scene.

The store is open and running on generators, the reader said.

To report a power outage to PPL, click here or text OUTAGE to TXTPPL.

Emergencies such as downed power lines should be reported immediately by calling 1-800-DIAL-PPL (1-800-342-5775). Press 1 for “Power Problem” when prompted.