Driver’s car slammed into a light pole, over turns at busy Merced intersection

A driver suffered minor injuries after his vehicle collided with a light pole and overturned in Merced on Thursday.

According to Merced Police Officer Craig McKeeman, authorities responded to the scene of a solo vehicle rollover collision at about 11:45 a.m. in at the area of West 16th Street and Yosemite Parkway in Merced.

Police said the driver, a 45-year-old man from Atwater, was traveling from West 16th Street onto Yosemite Parkway in a 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse when he failed to negotiate the right turn.

The vehicle traveled straight and left the roadway where is struck a light pole and overturned, according to police.

The driver was wearing his seat belt at the time of the collision which most likely kept the man inside the vehicle as it flipped, according to McKeeman. The driver suffered a small laceration to the top of his head and was not taken to the hospital.

Police said neither drugs nor alcohol appear to be a factor in the collision.