Power outage in Durham area closes 3 schools, leaves over 1,600 without power

More than 1,600 customers are without power Tuesday morning after a car crash Monday night left three people with life-threatening injuries, according to officials from Duke Energy and the Durham police.

Three Durham schools were without power as a result of the crash: Hillside High School, New Tech High School and W. G. Pearson Elementary School.

Students who are already at W.G. Pearson Elementary School or who were on their way via a bus will be transported to Shepard Middle School at 2401 Dakota St., where they will be served breakfast and supervised by Shepard staff. Parents should pick the students up early if possible.

Any students not picked up by parents will stay at Shepard and will be bused home at the end of the school day. Parents should not take their students to school until power is restored.

Duke Energy customers lost power around 5 p.m. Monday when a vehicle going east on Cornwallis Road drove off the road and hit a utility pole, according to authorities.

The driver and two children were taken to a hospital.

Cornwallis Road was closed between Fayetteville Road and Beechwood Drive as crews made repairs. The road is not expected to re-open until sometime Tuesday morning.

If you want to keep updated on the power outage, keep an eye on the Duke Power outage map.