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Driver slams into power pole in El Cajon

Posted at 2:48 PM, May 22, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-22 21:32:16-04

EL CAJON, Calif. (KGTV) -- Police are investigating after a car slammed into an El Cajon power pole Tuesday afternoon, leaving some residents without power.

The crash happened on Madison Avenue and 3rd Street near Madison Avenue Elementary School.

"It was just kind of like a loud boom," said Julia Jorgensen, who heard the crash.  "The car was smoking at the front for a little bit, so I was really scared that it was going to blow up."

According to police in El Cajon, the crash caused extensive damage.  In photos from the scene, the power pole appears to be split in half. SDG&E turned off power approximately 120 residents in the area as a precaution.  Power was restored for most residents by 4:30 p.m.

The crash also closed Madison Avenue between 3rd Street and Macon Street, creating traffic as parents picked up their children from one of several schools in the area.

Police say the incident is being investigated as a DUI crash. A witness described the driver as stumbling out of the vehicle shortly after the crash.

"I ran up to him.  I said, 'Who was in the car, like who's in there?' and he was really really out of it.  His eyes were rolling in the back of his head," Jorgensen said. "He was kind of falling everywhere.  He was really really sweaty.

At one point, she says he even laid down in the grass, curled up like a ball.

Both the driver and passenger were responsive but taken to the hospital with serious injuries. 

SDGE expects to reopen the street by 10 p.m.