The Turlock Fire Department rescued a motorist from his crushed vehicle after the driver struck a light post.

The male driver sustained serious injuries from the crash and was taken by an air ambulance to a hospital for treatment. His name and current condition are not known.

The collision occurred shortly before 4 a.m. Saturday in the area of N. Walnut Road and W. Monte Vista Avenue. The vehicle struck the light post off the roadway, causing damage that kept the driver trapped in the vehicle for about an hour, according to the fire department.

“Fire crews had to use our heavy rescue tools to pry and cut away the vehicle from around the patient to extricate him from the vehicle,” said Battalion Chief Gary Lunsford in a news release.

In total three engines, one battalion chief, Turlock Police officers, the air ambulance and emergency medical technicians responded to the incident.

“Under the most trying conditions, firefighters carefully removed the crashed vehicle from around the driver,” said Turlock Fire Chief Robert Talloni. “Conventional means of exit, the doors, we're impossible to operate. Firefighters used a balanced approach to minimize injury to the victim, assist with medical care, and removed obstacles for transportation to a medical facility. The skill-set of each firefighter and the on-scene direction given by Battalion Chief Gary Lunsford was of the highest professional level. We commend them for their valiant efforts."