Three people were hospitalized after a car crash in Rancho Bernardo turned into a SWAT standoff with a knife-wielding man Sunday, authorities said.
San Diego Fire-Rescue personnel responded to the crash shortly before noon to Pomerado Road near Fieldstone Drive and later called for police back-up, according to Sgt. Tom Sullivan. The man was refusing to get out of his vehicle and threatening to harm himself.
Officers blocked off surrounding streets in the area east of Interstate 15, forcing an ambulance to take an alternate route to the scene, Sullivan said.
SDFD dispatched 14 units to the scene including five ambulances, urban search and rescue, a medical rescue unit, a shift commander, a battalion chief, a fire engine and others, according to the department’s website.
Three people were transported by ambulance to local hospitals with unknown injuries, according to SDFD spokeswoman Monica Munoz.
The condition of the unidentified man who was threatening to harm himself with a knife was not released.
The standoff was ongoing five hours after it began.
— City News Service