SUV hangs from power line, pole after serious crash in uptown

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rescue crews responded early Thursday morning to a serious crash uptown in which an SUV was stuck upright, hanging from lines on a power pole.

First responders arrived at the intersection of North College Street and East 11th Street around 7:45 a.m. and found a Lexus SUV suspended from an electrical line attached to the pole.

IMAGES: Car crashes up power pole in uptown

Firefighters said the driver was still inside the vehicle when they arrived, and it took a few minutes to free that person, who they said climbed into the back seat of the SUV after the crash.

Police said the driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries. He was treated on the scene and will be OK.

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Several people who work in the area watched as crews tried to get the car back on the ground.

"As I drove up, I saw a car suspended on the telephone wires," P.J. McKenzie said. "A lot of my co-workers were standing around agape."

McKenzie said he and many others were surprised that the driver was OK.

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"We were all amazed," McKenzie said. "He's extremely lucky or the engineering of that car is amazing."

Officers said the SUV was coming off the Interstate 277 ramp onto College, and a mechanical issue may have contributed to the crash. The driver told police that his brakes stopped working.

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Police said the driver grazed one parked car during the accident, but the driver will not be cited.

Charlotte firefighters and a wrecker service stabilized the car using metal poles. They used chains and a crane to get the car down.

AT&T and Time Warner Cable crews had to come back out afterward to fix the power lines.

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