SATURDAY MORONGO VALLEY CRASH CAUSES ROAD DELAYS, POWER OUTAGE

Traffic on Highway 62 was disrupted for about six hours on Saturday after a man drove his truck into a power pole in Morongo Valley. About 2:30 p.m., Raymond Yglesias, 48, of Whittier, was driving a Ford Ranger pick-up truck pulling a trailer, westbound on the Highway, just east of Willie Boys, when for unknown reasons, he veered onto the shoulder of the highway and crashed into a power pole, sheering it off. The pole, hanging by the power lines, blocked the westbound lanes of the highway. The collision also caused a second utility pole to fall into the westbound lanes of the highway. A Nissan Maxima, driven by Charles Putney, 60, of Yucca Valley collided with the second utility pole. Witnesses said they saw sparks coming from the power lines. Southern California Edison arrived about 30 minutes later to repair the power lines, and power was restored to the Morongo Valley area about 8:20. Westbound traffic on the highway was diverted into one of the eastbound lanes while Edison worked to restore power. Brian LaGrand, 69, of Desert Hot Springs, a passenger in the pick-up truck, suffered minor injuries and was taken to Desert Hospital in Palm Springs.