LEWISTON – A Sabattus Street store went dark Thursday night after a Jeep struck a utility pole in a parking lot, snapping the pole in half and dropping wires across East Avenue.

Late Thursday night, police were still searching for the driver of what witnesses described as a blue or teal Jeep seen speeding away from the scene of the wreck.

At Elizabeth Ann General Store, clerk Leah Gielarowski was nearing the end of her shift at about 9 p.m. when the chaos began.

“I heard a loud bang and there was a flash of light,” she said. “Somebody hit that pole pretty hard.”

The wood pole was snapped off near the base.

The upper half crashed down into the Elizabeth Ann parking lot and dragged down power lines as it went.

“There were wires down across the road and across the parking lot,” Gielarowski said.

Still, the lights stayed on. Customers who were inside the store at the time finished their business and left.

Police and fire crews who responded quickly blocked off a section of East Avenue and diverted traffic down nearby streets.

With lines hanging and others stretched across the pavement, a Central Maine Power Co. worker shut down power from the pole, causing Elizabeth Ann to go dark.

At least one customer at the gas pumps had to settle for what he had already put in his tank when the power went out.

Gielarowski, waiting for another clerk to come in to relieve her, continued waiting on customers under backup lights, using a notepad to keep track of the exchanges.

Meanwhile, the search was on for the driver who struck the pole. Police asked that anyone with information about the driver or the Jeep call them at 513-3139.