Feb. 01--A man was injured in Oxnard this morning after crashing into a power pole that energized his vehicle.
The incident was reported about 11:15 a.m. in a rural area near the intersection of Teal Club Road and South Victoria Avenue.
A man was driving east on Teal Club Road when he became distracted, veered off the road and hit a power pole, said Battalion Chief Darwin Base of the Oxnard Fire Department.
Three transformers from the pole came down and energized the vehicle and first responders couldn't continue the rescue until after the electricity was turned off in the area, Base said.
After about 20 minutes, Southern California Edison crews turned off the power lines and firefighters were able to extricate the victim.
The man, who is in his mid to late 60s, complained of back and neck pain and he was taken to Ventura County Medical Center for treatment, Base said.
He added that the extrication effort was minor, but the victim was in too much pain to let himself out of the vehicle.
The vehicle's air bags were deployed and the victim was wearing his seat belt, Base said.
No one else was injured in the incident, Base said. It is unclear if the crash caused any outages in the area.
One of the transformers leaked fluid on the road way and a hazardous material team responded to make sure the fluid was not toxic and didn't spread, Base said.
Edison handled the clean up and a private tow company towed the vehicle, Base said.
Teal Club Road was closed between Victoria Avenue and Patterson Road while the roadway was cleared.
Copyright 2012 - Ventura County Star, Calif.
