BUCKFIELD – A Buckfield man was arrested on charges of operating under the influence after smashing his pickup into a telephone pole early Tuesday on Route 117.

John L. Boucher, 38, snapped the pole 10 to 15 feet from its base when his truck went off Streaked Mountain Road at 1:15 a.m.

Boucher was westbound in a 1992 GMC pickup truck near Sodom Road, headed up the mountain, when he hit the pole, said Oxford County Sheriff Department Cpl. Dane Tripp.

The impact “threw the top part of the pole right into the road, with wires laying everywhere,” Tripp said. The impact also threw Boucher’s truck across the centerline into an embankment, landing on top of a snowbank.

Boucher suffered minor injuries, and was checked out by rescue workers at the scene, but refused transport to the hospital, Tripp said. His truck was totaled.

The highway was closed to traffic for three or four hours while utility companies worked to restore the lines and clean up the mess. The Buckfield Rescue and Fire departments responded, as did the Paris Fire Department and Paris Patrolman Matt Dailey.

Traffic was rerouted over Paris Hill, except for one tractor-trailer that could not turn around and was stuck near the accident scene until the highway was cleared.

Boucher was taken to the Oxford County Jail and released on bail Tuesday. He faces an April 28 court date in the 11th District Court in South Paris.