steering wheel isnt straight after accident

The other day I side swiped a telephone pole in my 98 cavalier z24 and now my steering wheel isnt straight. The right front wheel did hit the pole. I was wandering if hitting a pole on the side could mess up the alignment or what else I should look at. Thanks for any info.

u have definitely knocked it out of alignment. u need to get it aligned and checked for any damaged parts most likely tie rods bent

Thanks, I will have it aligned asap.

The problem will be deeper than just the alignment. I had a little "off road adventure" on the interstate (rain+bump+70mph=instant 180+360 in the median) it didn't seem like much but the struts were mauled and the alignment was way off. The mechanic I took it to had one hell of a time getting it back into "spec" alignment. He said he had to cut -something- to bring it back to spec. It depends on how strong of a collision and the angles involved, but there may be body and/or frame warpage. My uncle told me once, "after you have significant damage to the front of a FWD vehicle the best thing to do is sell it," now I wish I had! It never stays perfectly aligned, but it's close. It's up to you to determine whether it was enough damage to consider it "bent".

It was about 40 mph at almost no angle. I was headed straight for the pole but I turned the wheel(after putting eyes back on road :banghead: ) and side swiped the pole.