Updated: Crash Tuesday Morning Shuts Down Highway 9 in Both Directions

Update: 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13: Caltrans sent a crew to assist PG&E in clearing Highway 9, south of Saratoga, of power lines following an early morning crash Tuesday in unincorporated Santa Cruz County, Caltrans spokesman Colin Jones said.

The driver of the car was a 17-year-old boy whose family had reported him missing to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Department about a week ago, CHP spokeswoman Officer Sarah Jackson said.

After the 4:33 a.m. crash in the Ben Lomond area, the boy called his father, who picked him up and took him to their home in San Lorenzo Valley, Jackson said.

No one was injured in the accident as earlier reported. The accident is still under investigation. No arrests had been made as of late this morning, she said.

Traffic was being diverted onto upper and lower Glen Arbor Road, Jackson said.

Power was restored to those affected by the outage by about 9 a.m., according to PG&E.

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Update: 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13: A severe traffic alert remains in effect for both directions of Highway 9 south of Saratoga following an early morning crash this morning that downed a utility pole and caused injuries. The estimated time for reopening the roadway is 9 p.m., according to Caltrans.

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A vehicle struck a utility pole on State Highway 9, causing injury, blocking traffic in both directions and leaving more than 3,000 PG&E customers in unincorporated Santa Cruz County without power this morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.

All lanes of traffic on Highway 9 in the census-designated place of Ben Lomond, about 30 miles south from Saratoga, have been blocked since the collision was reported to the CHP at 4:33 a.m.

Traffic is being diverted onto Glen Arbor Road, according to the CHP. PG&E reported that 3,045 customers in the Ben Lomond area have been without power since 4:37 a.m. as a result of the downed utility pole.

On the traffic.511.org website, a severe traffic alert was still in effect alerting motorists that both directions of travel remain closed due to a downed pole and wires and that motorists are advised to expect delays and avoid the area. Caltrans plans to reopen the roadway by 2 p.m., the advisory said.

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—Saratoga Patch contributed to this report.