A Turlock resident and his neighbor escaped a potential tragedy Tuesday morning when they were nearly run over by a sports utility vehicle pulling over for an emergency vehicle.

“We were about five feet from a horrific death,” said Robert Wear.

Wear and his neighbor had been out at the Turlock Flea Market and were walking in the area of N. Johnson Road and E. Marshall Street around 9 a.m. Tuesday.

“We heard the siren and looked up and saw this truck coming right at us,” Wear said. “If we hadn’t of taken an evasive maneuver right there we would have been gone.”

The SUV was attempting to yield to a California Highway Patrol vehicle when it struck a utility pole, said Turlock Police spokesperson Officer Steve Rodrigues.

“It hit that pole with so much force it snapped it like a toothpick,” Wear said.

There was no information on the driver of the vehicle or any injuries. An ambulance was called to the scene.