A driver who crashed in front of Georgia Piedmont Technical College early Monday was a drunken 19-year-old Clarkston High School student, DeKalb County police said.

The driver’s car left the roadway about 8:16 a.m. and hit a power pole in the 400 block of North Indian Creek Drive, knocking out power to the campus as well as Clarkston High, DeKalb police Lt. Lonzy Robertson said.

The single-vehicle crash “was not the result of a chase,” he said.

Clarkston was closed for about two hours, according to the DeKalb County School District. Georgia Piedmont Technical College was closed until noon while crews worked to restore power.

Georgia Piedmont student David Jefferson said he saw the driver “dodging traffic” minutes before the crash.

The car hit a curb, went into the air and struck a utility pole, which snapped in half, Jefferson said.

No one but the Clarkston High student was in the car, according to police. However, authorities could not immediately reach the driver due to downed electrical wires.

Georgia Piedmont Technical College student David Jefferson, 18, describes a crash in front of the DeKalb County school that knocked out power to the campus. JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM

Remi Oroyo, another student at the college, said he saw authorities break the glass of the car and pull out the driver.

“It’s a miracle,” he said.

The driver was later taken into custody, Oroyo said.

The driver’s name and the charges against him have not been released. According to police, he sustained minor scratches.

In other news:

The Lambert High school graduate was a promising forward at the University of North Georgia.

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