Morning Roundup: Crash causes power outage in Kennedy

Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023:

Crash in Kennedy closes road, causes power outages

A crash early Tuesday morning sheared a utility pole in Kennedy Township, injuring a person, closing the road and causing local power outages.

The crash on Pine Hollow Road occurred around 2 a.m., according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI.

The crash caused a utility pole to shear on Pine Hollow Road near Broadway Avenue. Pine Hollow is blocked to traffic at that location.

Nearly 200 customers in Kennedy and 56 customers in neighboring Stowe Township are without power this morning, according to Duquesne Light.

Air quality concerns rise amid Ohio derailment

A controlled explosion on Monday evening at a train derailment site in East Palestine, Ohio, released chemicals into the air and caused black smoke to bloom for hours after the explosion.

Officials from the Environmental Protection Agency are monitoring air quality following the controlled explosion. Evacuations of the immediate area around East Palestine were enacted before the controlled explosion, including a small part of Western Pennsylvania that included 22 residents.

A strong smell had been reported in the immediate vicinity of East Palestine and several Beaver County residents raised concerns about possible air contamination. The controlled explosion was to release vinyl chloride from the downed train cars.

No smells were reported Tuesday morning in Darlignton, Pa., located a few miles to the east of East Palestine, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI.

WATCH: The beginning of the controlled release of chemicals in East Palestine, OH. Now, more than an hour later, the dark black cloud has grown exponentially as the chemicals have started dissipating into the air. This from our vantage point in Darlington, Beaver Co, PA. @WPXI pic.twitter.com/AaqsqLcI2z

— Pete DeLuca WPXI (@PeteDeLucaTV) February 6, 2023

Slow winds are currently blowing from the southeast and into Ohio. The winds will pick up and shift later in the day, according to WPXI. Around noon, winds will start to blow from the southwest, which will push any remnants of the bloom into northern Beaver County and Lawrence County.

Winds could reach speeds of up to 30 mph Tuesday afternoon.

On Monday before the controlled explosion, Allegheny County wasn’t experiencing any effects to its air quality, according to officials from the county’s health department.

Gov. Josh Shapiro held a press conference yesterday evening acknowledging the dramatic images of black smoke, but said that the controlled release went to plan. He said the state is also monitoring the air quality and said no concerning readings had been observed so far.