Wildomar Man Loses His Load On Newport Road, Power Outage Follows

A Wildomar man towing a flatbad trailer got the attention of a lot people Tuesday afternoon.

John Gibelyou, 69, was driving his van eastbound on Newport Road in Menifee with a flatbed trailer in tow when he hit a small dip in the street near the Murrieta Road intersect, according to a report from Sgt. Sergio Rodriguez of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

The trailer hitch became disengaged and the safety chains also failed, causing the trailer to veer off on its own and hit a guy wire leading to a power pole, Rodriguez explained.

At around 2:08 p.m., officers from the Menifee Police Department responded to the crash.

"The call was received as having unknown injuries and an explosion at the same area immediately following the collision. It appeared some electrical device on the pole was the cause of the explosion," Rodriguez reported.

The crash led to a power outage in the area, the sergeant said, but at press time the lights were back on.

There were no injuries reported in the mishap, and Rodriguez said neither alcohol nor drugs are suspected in this case.