CARRABASSETT VALLEY — Police said a Stratton man was injured early Tuesday morning after a vehicle he was riding in lost its steering, went off the road and snapped a utility pole.

William Popov, 18, was driving a 2001 Jeep south on Route 27 shortly after 5 a.m. His father, Alex, 48, was a passenger in the vehicle, Carrabassett Valley police Chief Mark Lopez said.

Alex Popov received a back injury and was taken to Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington by a NorthStar ambulance, Lopez said.

William Popov was on his way to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and had his belongings with him, Lopez said.

Popov drove approximately 5 miles to Bigelow Hill, about a mile north of the access road to Sugarloaf, when he lost control of the vehicle. The steering failed and the vehicle went across the opposite lane and off the left side of the road and hit a pole. Electrical wires were low, but none snapped and they were never on the vehicle, Lopez said.

Central Maine Power replaced the pole, but it took several hours to clear the scene, he said. The work was finished about 11 a.m.

“He was very lucky,” Lopez said.

Carrabassett police officer Troy Reed responded to the accident along with members of Carrabassett Valley Fire Department, CMP and NorthStar.

abryant@sunjournal.com