A car accident in Greenfield briefly caused a Black Friday shopping blackout in a busy shopping district Friday morning.
On the busiest shopping day of the year, hundreds of customers in the Greenfield Best Buy were all of a sudden left in the dark.
"We got here and about 10 minutes later the power went out," said shopper Thomas Pirelli.
Pirelli and his daughter were looking for a discounted big screen TV around 10:30 a.m. when the store went pitch black.
Power is back on at Best Buy near 76th and Layton. Manager says kudos to We Energies for the quick response. pic.twitter.com/iUzguN3zwY
— Ben Jordan (@BenJordan3) November 24, 2017
"The lights flickered, tried to come back on and they didn't come back on and we were making light of it, 'oh, Black Friday, this is a real Black Friday,'" Pirelli said.
The store was one of around 750 We Energies business and residential customers left without power after a rollover accident at 76th and Layton.
"There was a loud boom and a couple more booms," said Bret Eulberg.
Eulberg was working inside Robert Haack Diamonds when an SUV smashed into a utility pole across the street. The collision snapped the main power feeder line a few feet above ground leaving the pole tilted. Customers can be seen on surveillance video running over to help the two young women inside the overturned vehicle.
People are using the lights on their phone to exit. Some choose to wait it out for the deals. So proud people didn’t just start hauling off with stuff. @tmj4 pic.twitter.com/MRu09qRBBt
— Delaney Brey (@DelaneyBrey) November 24, 2017
Hey guys if are #BlackFriday2017 shopping at the @BestBuy in Greendale the power just went out! So much for getting my iPad 😅 @tmj4 pic.twitter.com/Na11evZiOb
— Delaney Brey (@DelaneyBrey) November 24, 2017
"It's just amazing,” Eulberg said. “They put their lives in danger to try to help the people in that van."
Both accident victims were able to walk away from the wreck after rescue crews pulled them out of the overturned SUV.
"The sad part is, for about two hours, we lost a lot of business because you obviously couldn't get to our store because of the accident," Eulberg said.
Power was restored all but two businesses in the area about 45 minutes late. Pirelli said this accident is a reminder to be careful on the roads during the Black Friday shopping rush.
"Everybody is in a hurry to go nowhere, that's the biggest thing,” he said. “Not paying attention to what they're doing."
Photo from @DelaneyBrey at 76th & Layton where a rollover crash has knocked out power at Best Buy during Black Friday shopping. @tmj4 pic.twitter.com/4GIeYw5asG
— Ben Jordan (@BenJordan3) November 24, 2017
