Man arrested after Friday morning crash knocks out power in Cape Girardeau

Cape Girardeau police arrested an Oak Ridge man and charged him with second-degree assault after an injury accident early Friday morning that left 5,187 Ameren Missouri customers without electricity and caused a small gas fire, officials said.

Dillon Anthony Meyer, 18, was driving a pickup northbound in the 2300 block of Boutin Drive when the vehicle left the road about 1:20 a.m. and struck a power pole, police said. The assault charge was filed because an unidentified 21-year-old male passenger in the pickup suffered serious injuries, Cape Girardeau Police Department spokesman Darin Hickey said. Police also charged Meyer with failure to drive on the correct side of the roadway and possession of an intoxicant by a minor. He was being held Friday on a $15,000 cash-only bond.

The pickup sheared off the pole and broke a natural gas line, firefighters said. Gas in the lines ignited, and firefighters closed the street and allowed the gas to burn out while they cleared the scene.

Power was restored in about an hour, an Ameren spokesman said.

Pertinent address:

2315 Boutin Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO