Traffic on State Road 135 continues to flow through a four-way stop after a driver badly damaged the pole that held Nashville’s downtown stoplight.

INDOT removed the pole, which was leaning in an unsafe way, on Dec. 18, and four stop signs were placed at the intersection, which is next to the courthouse.

As of Jan. 2, the Indiana Department of Transportation had no repair date scheduled, said Natalie Garrett, media relations director for the Seymour district.

“INDOT is currently working with an engineering contractor to complete inspections of the pole, bolts and foundation,” she wrote in an email to The Democrat. “We currently do not have a specific timeframe for repairs, as duration and scope of work will be determined by these inspections, but they will be completed as soon as possible.

“It is our hope that we will be able to reuse the existing pole in order to avoid any additional delays associated with getting a new one, as this type of pole is not one we keep on hand,” she said.

The pole holding the stoplight at the corner of 135/Van Buren and Main streets was hit just after 9 p.m. on Dec. 17.

The driver, Cory Sharkey, 24, of Indianapolis, intended to hit it, according to a crash report by Nashville Police Patrolman Justin Anderson, which the newspaper received on Dec. 30.

Anderson arrived on scene at 9:09 p.m. and found Sharkey trapped in 16-foot box truck that had crashed into the pole. It was a company-owned truck.

Sharkey was yelling and crying to Anderson and Officer William Pruitt, the report said. Nashville Fire Department extricated him due to both doors being unable to be opened.

The truck was towed by Brown County Tire due to disabling damage.

Sharkey was taken to IU Health Bloomington Hospital. Before he was transported, Anderson spoke with him, and Sharkey said that he “was having some personal issues at home” and “he saw the light pole and just drove right into it,” the report said.