A driver who crashed into a power pole in Montebello waited in his wrecked van until crews pulled him to safety. Beverly White reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015.
Rescue crews pulled a driver from a van after he struck a power pole in Montebello Thursday night and knocked out electricity in parts of the city, police said.
The van hit a power pole at Beverly Boulevard and Poplar Avenue about 7 p.m., blowing a transformer and downing wires, Montebello police said.
Witnesses said the crash sounded like a "big explosion," and described the driver as looking fine after the wreck.
The driver, a 68-year-old man, never lost consciousness and waited inside the wrecked van until crews shut off electricity and pulled him from the car.
"Other than being shaken from the whole incident -- fortunately he did not try to get out of the car when he saw that there was fire around the car, and that the wires were live," Montebello Lt. Kelly Gordon said.
Video from the scene showed a power pole on the ground next to the van, and the power lines could be seen strewn across the hood as the driver sat inside.
SoCal Edison officials said at least 2,000 people were temporarily without power.
News
Top news of the day
Police first said four people were inside the van, but video from the scene only showed the driver inside.
Additional details about the crash were not clear.
Driver trapped in car right now in Montebello. Power lines fell across his hood after traffic accident. @nbcla pic.twitter.com/3wE8Qz8diF — Sean Browning (@ShootSeanNBCLA) January 23, 2015
