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Bob ColesSOUTH ROXANA - A vehicle struck a power pole Saturday on Daniel Boone Trail in South Roxana, then the driver fled the vehicle and ran past the village's Police Chief Bob Cole' house. Cole, who was outside off duty barbecuing, called for police backup and chased the suspect down and caught him.

Because of the incident, electric was out until about 11 p.m. Saturday in the vicinity of Highway 111 South of Madison Avenue. Ameren Illinois was called to the scene and worked as fast as possible to fix the pole and power issue.

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Chief Coles was glad to apprehend the suspect and just deal with the matter.

"The man who knocked down the power pole and fled the scene faces a variety of charges, while we are waiting on lab results," Chief Coles said. "He will have several traffic violations, reckless driving and more. The vehicle ripped the pole out of the ground and then the pole snapped in half."

Coles said he tries to remain fit with weight lifting and occasional jogging and on Saturday it paid off to catch the suspect. He remembered last Thanksgiving he was going to a family event and a drug deal occurred and he chased them down and apprehended them.

"It took several hours to restore power," Chief Coles said of the Saturday incident. "I was glad we were able to catch him, it was a lot quicker and easier on police this way."

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