Driver air-lifted to hospital after crash on Highway 101 in Gilroy

A driver lost control and crashed into a power pole on northbound Highway 101 just south of Monterey Road Tuesday night, causing major traffic backups, the California Highway Patrol said.

CHP said a 67-year-old Saratoga man’s car went off the highway just before 10 p.m., hit a power pole, went through a barbed-wire fence, hit a sign and then flipped.

The crash knocked down power lines onto the highway, which reportedly hit another car, breaking the windshield and damaging the hood. Several people were temporarily trapped inside their car because of the live power lines.

The driver, who was the only person in the car, was air-lifted to a Bay Area trauma center. His condition was not immediately know.

CHP officers do not suspect drugs or alcohol were involved.