Minor-injury crash on Oakdale Road takes down utility lines

Two people suffered minor injuries in a single-vehicle crash into a utility pole on Oakdale Road on Tuesday morning. Witnesses said the pole caught fire and, according to the California Highway Patrol, phone cables fell onto the roadway.

The crash occurred shortly after 10:30 a.m. between Claribel Road and Claratina Avenue when a silver Mitsubishi Galant struck the pole, said CHP Officer Koda Hudson.

The southbound driver veered off the west side of Oakdale Road and struck both the pole and an irrigation box, the officer said. Drugs and alcohol were not factors, and there was no evidence of distracted driving such as cell phone use. The driver apparently was "just not paying attention," Hudson said.

American Medical Response and firefighters also responded to the scene. The driver and passenger, whose names were not available, did not require medical transport, Hudson said.

Modesto Irrigation District had a crew working to restore power, the CHP said. MID spokeswoman Melissa Williams said only two or three residential customers were affected.

Hudson said it's not clear the pole caught fire. He said witnesses sometimes see the dust from airbag deployment and mistake it for smoke.

This story was originally published January 2, 2018 at 12:24 PM with the headline "Minor-injury crash on Oakdale Road takes down utility lines."