Shopping center closed after hit-and-run
Published 10:29 am Thursday, February 18, 2021
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A Holland Road shopping center is closed after a vehicle apparently struck the gas meter base behind one of the shops.
The Oak Ridge Shopping Center, which houses a Food Lion and other shops in the 1500 block of Holland Road, is affected.
Emergency Communications was first contacted and Suffolk Police units initially responded to an alarm call at the Tobacco & Vape shop located in an end unit at the shopping center at 1:18 a.m. and found that a vehicle had struck the rear of the building, with the impact activating the alarm, according to a city press release. The vehicle had fled the scene.
Suffolk Fire & Rescue units were dispatched due to the heavy odor of gas in the area and arrived at 1:23 a.m.
Preliminary investigation found the vehicle had struck the gas meter base, and crews from Virginia Natural Gas responded in order to secure and make extensive repairs that were required. Dominion Power crews also responded, as power had to be completely shut down from the pole to the multiple businesses in the shopping center due to the amount of natural gas in the area. Store managers were contacted to advise of the incident and the necessity to secure power.
All of the businesses in the shopping center will need to be ventilated before power can be restored later this morning. The incident remains under investigation.
Responding units include Battalion 1; Engines 1, 2, and 4; Ladder 3; Medic 1, Rescue 1, EMS-1, and Safety 1.