A van crashed into a utility pole on Route 9 North in Sayreville on Tuesday, causing hundreds of people to lose power and closed a portion of the highway.

The crash happened around 2:30 p.m. near Ernston Road. A Ford transit van with Pennsylvania plates crashed into a utility pole and brought down several other poles with it before stopping in front of a Starbucks.

The crash caused power lines to come down and at least one transformer caught on fire.

JCP&L says that as many as 500 customers lost power because of the crash, including many businesses along Route 9, as well as a large apartment complex.

“I was on my porch and heard this great big boom, and then all of this black smoke and a lot of fire,” says Sayreville resident Louise Bellamy. “When I came outside, I saw the pole was knocked down. And everything was out of whack by then.”

Sayreville police say that Route 9 North could be down to just one lane into Wednesday morning.

It was not immediately clear how the crash occurred or if anyone was injured.

The van belongs to a third-party contractor of Optimum.