A pair of apparently unrelated rollover crashes early Tuesday in Oceanside left the two drivers hospitalized, one of them facing charges, and thousands of gallons of water gushing from a sheared fire hydrant.
The first of the crashes was reported at the intersection of North Santa Fe and Mesa avenues around 2:15 a.m., according to the Oceanside Fire Department.
Arriving fire crews found a man trapped in his overturned vehicle after it went over the side of an embankment and struck a tree. The driver was extricated in about 40 minutes and later flown to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla in critical condition.
While that rescue was underway, a sheriff’s deputy attempted to stop a silver Acura Integra that ran a red light at the intersection of North Emerald and West drives in Vista, but the driver failed to yield, San Diego Sheriff‘s Sgt. Martha Hernandez said.
Law enforcement officers followed the Acura onto Olive Drive in Oceanside, where it struck a fire hydrant, went airborne and landed atop two vehicles parked in the driveway of a residence near College Boulevard, Hernandez said.
Firefighters found the young man who had been behind the wheel lying outside of the car, deAvila said. He was first taken to Tri-City Medical Center, then was airlifted to Scripps La Jolla in an unknown condition.
The broken hydrant sent a geyser of water 20 to 30 feet into the air until city water department personnel shut down the flow about 10 minutes later.
— City News Service
