The traffic signal at Hooper & Blackwater roads that had been out since Friday night was restored late Sunday, but not before an accident occurred, according to the Central Police Department.
According to Central Police Chief Roger Corcoran, problems with the traffic signal at that intersection in the past were either accident or weather-related.
According to Rodney Mallett with the Dept. of Transportation & Development, the cause of the outage was a burned wire underground in a location that was hard to locate. Workers were sent out to the location several times throughout the weekend.
Chief Corcoran said the department had requested portable stop signs but said DOTD said they no longer use the signs.
According to Louisiana law, unless otherwise directed by a law enforcement officer, when a traffic signal is not functioning and the signal lights are dark, the intersection will turn into a four-way stop.
Corcoran said a driver traveling on Hooper Rd. failed to treat the intersection like a four-way stop Sunday night and drove straight through the intersection hitting another vehicle turning off Blackwater Rd.
“Drivers traveling all roads, need to abide by the law when a traffic signal is malfunctioning,” Corcoran said. “Our officers’ don’t want anyone injured or worse, when it could be prevented by following state law. Remember, unsafe driving can change many innocent lives forever.”
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