Pedestrians helped out after one driver hit two cars, knocked down a power line and flipped his SUV on its side at Northwest 15th Street and Northwest Fifth Avenue at about 4:40 p.m. Tuesday.
The driver, heading east on Northwest Fifth Avenue, sped through the intersection at Northwest 15th Street, clipping a smaller car as he drove past, said Gainesville Police Department officer Bryon Carroll.
The SUV swerved after the collision, hitting an unoccupied blue SUV parked along the south side of Northwest Fifth Avenue, Carroll said.
The driver lost control of the car and hit a nearby electric pole, breaking the pole and knocking it into the middle of the street and flipping the SUV onto its side, Carroll said.
Neighbors and passers-by rushed to help the driver, who escaped through his front window, Carroll said.
“The pedestrians did a great job providing help to a stranger,” he said.
Traffic was blocked temporarily, but no one was seriously injured.