AUBURN – A pickup truck snapped a utility pole on outer Center Street late Friday afternoon, tangling wires and traffic during rush hour and cutting electrical, phone and cable service.

It was one big mess.

“The pole basically fell across Route 4, blocking both lanes of travel,” said Auburn police Lt. Tim Cougle.

The driver, whose identity was not available Friday night, was not hurt, but he was unable to get out of his truck because wires lay across the roof.

Cougle said the crash felled a major utility pole supporting power, cable and telephone lines.

In addition, the tension on the wires also damaged three nearby poles. The result was an hours-long power outage for miles along Route 4. Police came from several directions in an attempt to divert late-day, commuter traffic away from the 4:45 p.m. crash site.

The stretch of Route 4 in front of Rainbow Cycle and Ski was closed. Police also shut down Lake Shore Drive and parts of Turner Street to keep traffic from spilling into the area.

“We had to scramble to get people into position,” Cougle said. “It was really bad timing.”

Traffic lights stopped working at major intersections. Cars and trucks began to back up to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge and beyond. Lights went out on shoppers and diners at nearby businesses.

“All of a sudden, the lights went out. Everything went dark,” said 26-year-old Megan Griffey, who was eating at Applebee’s at 599 Center St. at the time.

Griffey and other diners wandered out. Across Center Street, Arby’s, the 99 Restaurant and nearby stores were also dark. Traffic began to clog almost immediately.

“The traffic is horrible,” Griffey said.

Police set up detour signs at intersections near the scene. A section of Route 4 between Oak Hill Road and the causeway was expected to remain closed into late Friday.

Police said the pickup driver was headed north when he lost control of his truck. He was hauling a small backhoe when he crashed, police said. It was unclear whether or not the heavy equipment in back of the truck contributed to the wreck.

As if that crash weren’t bad enough, a second utility pole was downed in a car crash in another section of the city 15 minutes later.

About 5 p.m., a car slammed into a pole near Court Street and Minot Avenue, near Georgio’s Pizza. Nobody was seriously hurt, but traffic backed up and more officers were needed at the scene.

“We were lucky this all happened at the change of shifts,” Cougle said. “The day shift officers stayed over, and we called in the night shift early.”