Ashville Volunteers Secure Scene Following High-Impact Impact on Colonel Drake Highway

Ashville, PA - Volunteer firefighters from the Ashville Volunteer Fire Company responded to a high-impact single-vehicle crash early Sunday morning after a car severed a wooden utility pole, veered across both lanes of travel, and slammed into an opposing metal guardrail.

At 7:25 a.m. on Sunday, October 4, 2026, emergency dispatchers alerted Station 60 to the 1100 block of Colonel Drake Highway in Gallitzin Township for a reported high-mechanism motor vehicle collision. Rescue 60 and Truck 60 turned out promptly to the rural corridor.

Upon arrival, fire personnel encountered extensive physical damage spanning the roadway. A single passenger automobile had sheared a utility pole along the shoulder, traversed the highway lanes, and come to a final halt against the roadside guardrail. Despite the significant violent forces involved in the rollover-risk impact and extensive structural damage to the vehicle and infrastructure, the lone driver escaped the crash without injury.

Firefighters immediately established a safety perimeter around the shattered utility pole and sagging infrastructure, isolating potential electrical risks and managing vehicle fluid containment on the highway. Crews maintained roadway safety and debris mitigation until utility personnel and towing services could remove the wreckage and stabilize the damaged utility line.