A one-vehicle accident early on the morning of Saturday, September 13, caused a more than three-hour power outage, which affected about 400 Connecticut Light & Power Company (CL&P) electric customers in the Botsford area.

Police said motorist Katherine Threlfall, 18, of Middlebury was driving a 2000 Toyota 4-Runner SUV southward on Toddy Hill Road, just south of its intersection with Settlers Lane, at about 2 am when she was rounding a curve but lost control of the SUV and drove off the right road shoulder onto some turf.

The SUV then struck some rocks and drove across a driveway at 118 Toddy Hill Road, after which it struck an embankment and went airborne, striking a utility pole, police said.

The utility pole was located on the west side of Toddy Hill Road, across that street from the driveway entrance to Masonicare Health Center. Masonicare is large nursing home/assisted living facility.

The utility pole broke into three segments, resulting in utility lines falling onto the ground and being draped across the roadway.

The heavily damaged SUV came to rest on its roof on the roadway about 200 feet from its point of impact with the pole, officials said.

The incident caused an electric outage in that area which lasted until about 5:15 am, according to CL&P spokesman Mitch Gross. CL&P crews responded to the scene to restore electric service after the crash.

Botsford Fire Rescue Chief Wayne Ciaccia said that Masonicare lost its electric service due to the accident and needed to use its electric generators for power.

Chief Ciaccia said the driver involved in the crash was already outside of the SUV when volunteer firefighters arrived on the scene.

Police said Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps assessed Threlfall at the scene for possible injuries.

Chief Ciaccia said firefighters cleaned up automotive fluids which were spilled during the incident.

Police closed a section of Toddy Hill Road to through-traffic during the accident cleanup and investigation. Motorists took detours through the area.

After investigating, police charged Threlfall with driving under the influence by an underage person, possession of alcohol by an underage person, and making a restricted turn.

Threlfall was released on $100 bail for a September 25 appearance in Danbury Superior Court, police said.