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Police Say Underage Drunk Driver To Blame For Overnight Crash

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – An alleged underage drunk driver is being blamed for an accident that took out a power pole overnight in Sacramento.

Officers say a 19-year-old woman was driving drunk on Watt Avenue and Potter Lane around 3 a.m. when she lost control of her car and hit the pole.

"She was very intoxicated," CHP Officer Shon Remington said.

Just 19 years old and she's now arrested for DUI. According to the CHP, the suspect was on her way to see her boyfriend when she sheared a pole in half and knocked down a stop sign and street sign on Watt Avenue at Potter Lane.

"Very bad combination," neighbor Randy Simonsen said. "I don't drink. I would never get behind the wheel drinking, no way."

A big rock on the edge of the driveway stopped the car from continuing on toward parked cars and a house.

"Definitely saved this truck because I think it would have gone right into this truck and into the house, and it would have been all she wrote," Simonsen said.

SMUD and city of Sacramento crews had to come out and deal with the aftermath.

"She was driving a big old Cadillac," Remington said. "Those things are made of real medal, they cause quite a bit of damage. She wasn't going super fast. The weight of the machine and what she was driving and not being able to control it caused a big mess."

Remington said a bad decision can change everything.

"This young lady told me she was going to nursing school, and if she's convicted she may never be able to be a nurse, so it can change her entire life from this point on because of one bad decision," he said.

A neighbor around the corner said that after the driver hit the power poll, the lights flickered, but the power never went out.

The suspect, whose name wasn't released, was taken to a hospital for minor injures and was to be booked for DUI after her release.

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