TOPSHAM – A Lisbon driver who fell asleep at the wheel crashed his car into a utility pole on Route 196 and knocked out power to the area Monday afternoon. The road was closed from 1:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Allen Shorey, 46, escaped with apparent minor injuries and was taken to Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick, police Sgt. Mark Gilliam said.

He said Shorey was driving west toward Lisbon Falls near Whorff’s Stables when he fell asleep. His car crossed the eastbound lane and slammed into a utility pole, snapping it and the attached cables. Downed wires criss-crossed the highway.

Bath Iron Works was notified of the road closure so employees could take an alternate route.

A Fairpoint Communications spokesman told police that a new pole had to be brought from Boothbay.

Shorey’s 1993 Honda Accord was demolished, and it is expected the cost for repairs and a new pole will run into the thousands, Gilliam said.