Firefighters cut driver out of car

A driver likely speeding in Costa Mesa on Friday morning lost control of his vehicle and hit two light poles, shearing one of them in half, authorities said.

Matthew Cheeks, 31, was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana just after 2 a.m. Friday with cuts and bruises to his head after crashing on westbound Victoria Street.

Cheeks, of Huntington Beach, was likely speeding down the street when he hit a curb, which sent him careening to the opposite side of the street and into two light poles near Pacific Avenue, said Lt. Mark Manley.

Firefighters had to cut Cheeks out of his vehicle, Manley said.

Officers took a blood sample from Cheeks at the hospital to determine if he had any alcohol in his system, but at this point alcohol does not appear to be a factor, police said.

— Joseph Serna