The occupants of a vehicle that crashed into a lamppost and left thousands without power on Hobart’s East Coast overnight have been accused of fleeing the scene before police arrived.

More than 1,000 properties in Howrah, Rokeby and Tranmere were affected by the outage caused by a damaged pole on Droughty Point Road.

Police said “no one” was in the vehicle when they arrived at the scene shortly after 10pm on Monday evening.

“Tasmania Police are investigating the circumstances of a crash in which a man and a woman inside the vehicle left the scene before emergency services arrived,” a spokesman said.

“Police are conducting a special investigation and inquiries are ongoing.”

“Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact Tasmania Police or Crime Stoppers on 131 444.”

Electricity was restored to most homes in the area late at night.