Light pole victim of sleepy driver

Some people have a tough time getting to work on Monday mornings.

That was the case for Jason Mucciaccio this past Monday when he fell asleep and his pickup truck left the roadway and knocked down a power pole on SR-174, near Knute Street at North Dam Park.

Mucciaccio was driving to work at the new school building project, where he is employed by a subcontractor, when he fell asleep, he told police. His vehicle and trailer left the roadway, jumped a curb and severed the light pole.

Police said damage estimate was $5,000 to the pickup, $3,000 to the trailer, and $4,000 to the light pole.

The severed pole dropped the power line across the SR-174 roadway and disrupted traffic until Grant County PUD workmen arrived.

Mucciaccio, from Post Falls, Idaho, later continued on to the school construction job in Coulee Dam.