Planned power outage shut off traffic signal minutes before wreck involving Fresno PD officer

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno police officer is expected to be okay after being in a car crash Thursday night.

Authorities say it happened around 8 pm near Tulare and R streets.

Police say that just before the crash, the traffic lights at the intersection had gone black. A police camera at the intersection also cut out at 8:00 pm.

That's exactly the time that PG&E said it planned to conduct an outage for maintenance work in the area.

The police officer was going west on Tulare and a man in a Toyota Sequoia SUV was going north on R when they collided.

The man driving the SUV was able to walk on his own and is expected to be okay.

Police say the officer was taken to Community Regional Medical Center for precautionary reasons. Fire crews had to remove the hood of the police car to get the officer out, but he was able to step out on his own and walk away from the wreck.

PG&E released the following statement regarding the crash:

"The safety and security of our customers, employees, contractors, and communities is our most important responsibility. We are cooperating with the investigation into this accident."