SILER CITY — An accident on Raleigh Street in Siler City last Thursday forced the temporary closure of the road to first remove both vehicles involved in the accident and to allow for repair crews to replace a utility pole damaged in the accident.
Around lunchtime, a Honda sedan driven by Naseem Nisar Chaudhry was traveling south on N. Third Avenue, failing to stop at a stop sign, according to the Siler City Police Department report, and collided with a Chevrolet SUV driven by Joel Sanchez Flores traveling east on Raleigh Street.
According to witnesses at the scene, the collision forced the Chevrolet off the road, going airborn before hitting the curb and striking a brick planter owned by Capital Bank, and splitting the utility pole before coming to a stop on the sidewalk near the bank. Witnesses noted that Flores and his passenger, Victor Solis Jr., were able to exit the vehicle through the sun roof. Air bags in both vehicles deployed.
Chaudry’s vehicle, which was owned by New Star Auto Sales, according to the report, spun around before coming to a stop on Raleigh Street facing west.
According to first responders, drivers and passenger were transported to hospitals via First Health EMS services. Flores and Solis were transported to Chatham Hospital and Chaudry was transported to N.C. Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill.
The damage to the utility pole resulted in a power outage in the vicinity including Capital Bank which had to close temporarily while repairs took place. The pole was replaced by the end of the day Thursday.