A driver shot off of Casserly Road Monday in Watsonville and slammed into a utility pole, splitting it in two.
The California Highway Patrol said the driver, who fled the scene on foot, shot off the pavement around 1pm while traveling north on Casserly just north of Highway 152.
The impact tore out about 50 feet of fence before hitting the pole.
No injuries were reported and no other vehicles were involved.
A crew from Pacific Gas & Electric arrived on the scene just after Cal Fire personnel. A Pacific Gas & Electric worker said the pole, which holds 12,000 volt lines and communication lines, would have to be replaced.
Sylvia Fernandez, who was working the strawberry fields near the crash site, said she hopes the county can make efforts to slow traffic down in the area.
“This is the sixth crash right here that could have hurt or killed our field workers,” she said. “It’s a very dangerous situation—that people drive so fast through here; there’s also a school nearby. She said the car ended up in a strawberry crop where people could easily have been working. It crushed several raised beds of strawberry plants.
The incident is still under investigation.
