Authorities say a driver going the wrong way on W. Main Street on Monday afternoon collided with another driver going the right way and their collision snapped a utility pole.

McMinnville Police officer Stephen Daniels said Ruth Rowan, 55, was traveling the wrong direction in front of Hardee’s in a 2004 Nissan Murano. 

“Rowan, a Sparta resident, got turned around on West Main Street,” said Daniels. “She ended up in front of Hardee’s going the wrong way and attempted to dart across the intersection onto Lind Street.”

That decision put her in the path of Warren County resident Maria Silva, 36, who was traveling on Morford Street in a 2010 GMA Arcadia and attempting to take a left onto W. Main Street. 

The Murano struck the Arcadia’s driver’s side, forcing it up the street and into a utility pole owned by Frontier. The pole snapped and pieces of it landed in the roadway. It took a crew more than six hours to repair the damage.

Rowan and her passenger declined medical treatment.

“Ms. Silva was transported by Warren County EMS to Saint Thomas River Park for treatment,” said Daniels. “She was the only one transported.”

Rowan was given three citations for careless driving, driving the wrong way on a one-way street, and driving on an expired license.