Driver crashes into pole, flips car, but walks away unharmed

PHOTOGRAPHER: Kathleen Moore

A teenager crashed into a power pole with such force that he split the pole and flipped his car, but he walked away without a scratch, police said.

Forrest Burnetter, 18, of Burnt Hills, was driving to class at Schenectady County Community College when he veered off the road, police Lt. Stephen Janick said.

Burnetter was driving along Route 50, near Skyway Drive. He told police he simply wasn’t paying attention to the road.

Police said he was driving at about 40 mph when he hit the pole at 8:01 a.m. He was driving a Toyota.

“He was uninjured. Refused medical attention at the scene. Someone came and picked him up and took him to school,” Janick said. “That’s dedication. He didn’t want to go to the hospital, he wanted to get to class.”

Police found no evidence of texting or cell phone use that might have led to driver inattention, Janick said. They did not issue any tickets to Burnetter.