Man falls asleep at wheel, crashes on highway near Los Banos, police say

A man fell asleep at the wheel and crashed his car Monday on Highway 165, Los Banos police said.

Officer Jairo Acosta said that Aehayjit Sangha, 21, fell asleep while driving in the 500 block of North Mercey Springs Road, allowing his Mercedes-Benz C350 to drift into a utility pole and roll over onto its hood. The accident occurred around 1:50 p.m.

Sangha was taken to Memorial Hospital, Los Banos.

“He (was) conscious, just complained of neck pain,” Acosta said.

A witness reportedly told police Sangha was driving slowly when his car wandered into the utility pole. Acosta said Sangha told officers he woke up after hitting the utility pole and discovered the car was upside down.

Northbound traffic on Mercey Springs Road was diverted along San Luis Street for more than an hour due to the accident.

This story was originally published August 11, 2015 at 6:54 PM with the headline "Man falls asleep at wheel, crashes on highway near Los Banos, police say."