The Highway Patrol is investigating an accident where a vehicle sheared off a power pole, and both the car and pole ended up in the front yard of a homeowner.
It happened around 1:30 p.m. on Bragaw Lane in Chocowinity. That's a popular shortcut between Highway 33 and U.S. 17 in the Beaufort County town.
The vehicle hit the power pole, cutting it off at the base. The car then traveled about 20 feet before stopping in front of the home.
Troopers say the vehicle was actually driving down Barnes Drive, and the driver looked down at his lighter and didn't the stop sign at Bragaw, or an oncoming car. The Highway Patrol says the driver sped up to avoid the other car, and struck the pole.
Progress Energy has been called to repair the pole and fix the downed lines.
It appears when the pole fell, it struck the top of the car, while both the front and back windows of the vehicle were broken out.
Troopers say it's likely they'll charge the uninjured driver with speeding and failure to stop at the stop sign.
