Man charged with DWI after crash knocks out power to parts of Ogdensburg

OGDENSBURG — An Ogdensburg man has been charged with driving while intoxicated after a Thursday night crash that knocked out power to nearly 1,600 residents in Ogdensburg and the towns of Oswegatchie and Morristown, according to state police in Ogdensburg.

Troopers charged Thomas B. Free, 55, with driving while intoxicated after rescue personnel were called to the scene of an accident on Main Street, just outside the city limits, at 9:17 p.m.

Police said Mr. Free lost control and struck a utility pole, cutting it in two and rolling his pickup truck. He was taken to Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center by the Ogdensburg Volunteer Rescue Squad.

The accident left many people in the 2nd Ward and in stretches of the towns of Oswegatchie and Morristown without power for several hours during extreme cold. The Ogdensburg Fire Department responded and city police provided traffic control at the scene.