A driver who plowed into a traffic signal in Oceanside – shearing the pole at its base – was killed in the crash early Saturday morning, authorities confirmed.
At around 1:50 a.m., officers with the Oceanside Police Department (OPD) were called to a rollover crash on State Route 76 and North Coast Highway.
According to investigators, a driver in a 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer was traveling westbound on SR-76 when he failed to negotiate the curve in the road, striking the raised cement center median.
The driver went across the median and then hit two wooden posts. As the vehicle rolled, the driver struck a traffic signal pole on the southeast corner of North Coast Highway, shearing the pole off the ground.
Police said the driver was pinned inside the wreckage and died at the scene. His name was not immediately released. No one else was hurt in the collision.
The investigation is ongoing and police are trying to determine if alcohol, drugs or speed played a role in the deadly crash.
The streets were closed for several hours as police collected evidence and cleared debris left over from the wreckage.
