Greenfield man dies after pickup hits utility pole

SALINAS >> A 46-year-old Greenfield man died Saturday after his Ford F-250 went off Highway 101 between Salinas and Chular and hit a utility pole.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the 2008 Ford F-250 was traveling south on Highway 101 north of Gould Road at 5:28 a.m. when it left the highway, hit a PG&E power pole and then ran into a concrete water pump. The vehicle was engulfed in flames and the driver was declared dead at the scene.

The power pole was sheared off its base and the lines fell across the Union Pacific Railroad train tracks on Abbott Street. Union Pacific was notified and the northbound Highway 101 off-ramp to Abbott Street was temporarily closed.

The crash is under investigation by the CHP.