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Teen Escapes With His Life After Horrific San Jose Crash

SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- A teenage driver plowed into a power pole late Wednesday night in a crash that left more than 3,000 PG&E customers without power in South San Jose, police and utility officials said Thursday.

Officers responded to a report of a car crash on Almaden Expressway between Rajokovich Way and Almaden Road shortly before 11:30 p.m., police said.

RAW: Teen Plows SUV Into Power Pole In South San Jose

LUCKY TO BE ALIVE It took crews three hours to extricate a 16-year-old driver who had rammed his SUV into a power pole late Wednesday night, knocking out power for some 3,000 PG&E customers. Miraculously, the teen suffered only non-life-threatening injuries and is expected to survive. More on the crash: http://cbsloc.al/2en4JtQ

Posted by KPIX CBS San Francisco Bay Area on Thursday, October 20, 2016

Arriving officers found a 16-year-old boy who drove into a power pole that fell on Almaden Expressway, according to police.

The teen suffered injuries not considered life-threatening and was transported to a hospital for treatment, police said.

It took crews three hours to extricate the teen from the wreckage.

PG&E worked with firefighters at the scene to de-energize the downed power lines that resulted from the crash, utility spokeswoman Mayra Tostado said.

San Jose power-pole crash
San Jose power-pole crash (Maria Medina/CBS)

The crash left about 3,100 PG&E customers without electricity until about 4:30 a.m., Tostado said.

Utility crews weren't allowed to start making repairs until about 3:40 a.m. when the vehicle was cleared from the scene and the area was deemed safe for the restoration work, Tostado said.

Crews were still on the scene late Thursday morning and expected clean up would go into the afternoon.

TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

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