A Waltham man racked up 13 criminal charges and knocked out power to 2,100 NStar customers after his car snapped a utility pole in half while speeding down Crescent Street Halloween night, police said.
Police rescued David Cristofori, 39, from his 1995 Jeep Cherokee which caught fire after it struck the pole and tree shortly before 10 p.m.
Cristofori, arrested on his fifth drunken driving charge, was taken by ambulance to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center with a head laceration. He was listed in good condition last night, according to Zineb Marchoudi, spokesman for the hospital.
Before the crash, Cristofori led police on a chase, the details of which were unavailable last night.
A neighbor at the corner of Crescent Street and Norumbega Terrace, who asked that his name not be used, said he was home waiting for trick-or-treaters when he heard a large explosion.
``I was watching TV. I heard a crash and then I heard another big crash. He hit the pole and then the tree and the car caught flames,'' said the man. ``They ripped him out of the car. I thought he was dead.''
The neighbor said that in the past three decades on Crescent Street, speeding has been a major problem.
``My fence has been hit at least 15 times in the last 30 years,'' he said. ``I've talked to the mayor and the police. They say all you got to do is get a plate number. What are we going to do? Sit out here and wait for plate numbers? It's 30 mph and people are doing like 50.''
Yesterday, Verizon work crews were installing a new utility pole on Crescent Street, as downed wires draped across the front lawns of nearby houses.
Mike Durand, spokesman for NStar electric, said that 20 minutes after the accident was reported, workers restored power to 1,300 out of the 2,100 customers affected.
``We did what is called `switching.' Out in the field, we try to use other equipment whenever possible to bring in electricity around the damaged equipment,'' Durand said. ``There were about 650 customers that had their power restored with in 1« to 2« hours. ... The remaining customers, about 150, had power restored after 10 hours.''
Durand said NStar brought in a portable generator to restore power to a local nursing home ``as quickly as (they) could.''
Besides the drunken driving charge, Cristofori, of 206 Hammond St., has been charged with possession of cocaine, possession of Klonopin, a tranquilizer, possession of marijuana, driving to endanger, leaving the scene of an accident after knowingly causing property damage, failure to stop for a police officer, having a revoked license, improper care in turning, speeding, running a stop sign, failure to keep right and failure to stay in marked lanes.
As of last night, Cristofori still hadn't been arraigned on the charges, according to the Middlesex District Attorney's office.
The accident remains under investigation by the Waltham Police Accident Reconstruction Team.
