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NATCHEZ — A Natchez man who hit a utility pole, knocked out power to hundreds of Adams County residents and caused a major highway to be blocked for hours faces a misdemeanor DUI charge.

Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesman Craig James said that Jerry Simpson, age 33, is charged by MHP with a first-offense DUI. He was booked in the Adams County Jail with a $500 bond, arrest records show.

The accident scene at the old U.S. 84 and U.S. 61 North intersection near Historic Jefferson College has since been cleared after the accident occurred around 5 p.m. Tuesday, James said.

One lane of U.S. 61 North, on the right side, remained blocked off well into the evening after the incident and both lanes of old U.S. 84 were blocked for at least two hours as power lines stretched across the road, law enforcement said.

A Chevrolet Tahoe driven by Simpson reportedly left the roadway and hit a utility pole holding a transformer, knocking it to the ground. No one was injured in the single-vehicle crash, James said.

According to Entergy’s outage map at 7:30 p.m., just under 280 customers lost power in that area. Power was fully restored to the area as of Wednesday morning.

The gallery below includes submitted scenes from the accident on Tuesday evening.