Monday, January 12, 2015

1 DEAD, 3 HURT WHEN TRUCK ROLLS INTO YARD IN OTAY MESA IN SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA. DRIVER MAY HAVE BEEN UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL. NOBODY WAS WEARING A SEAT BELT.



1 DEAD, 3 HURT WHEN TRUCK ROLLS INTO YARD IN OTAY MESA IN SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.  DRIVER MAY HAVE BEEN UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL.  NOBODY WAS WEARING A SEAT BELT.


— A suspected drunken driver was killed and three of his passengers were injured when his truck overturned, rolled down a hill and crashed into the backyard of an Otay Mesa home early Sunday, San Diego police said.  The accident happened just after midnight in the 3300 block of Del Sol Boulevard in Otay Mesa.

The motorist in his 20s was driving west on Del Sol Boulevard when he lost control of his Nissan Titan truck about 12:15 a.m., police Officer Robert Heims said. 

The truck overturned into eastbound lanes near Beyer Way and rolled down a hill, Heims said. It then smashed through a fence and into the backyard of a house on Soldau Drive.
The driver was thrown from the truck and died, Heims said. A front-seat passenger was also ejected, but he survived. Two women in the backseat were also hurt.

The three passengers, all in their 20s, were taken to hospitals. None of them was wearing a seatbelt, Heims said. 

Neighbor George Preciado heard the crash happen.

“It’s like somebody stepped on a lot of aluminum cans for a while, just rolling and rolling. Then all you hear is screams,” Preciado said.

Police said alcohol is suspected in the crash. 

In this wet weather, it's likely not wearing seat belts, speed and driving inexperience played more of a role in the crash than drugs or alcohol.  Folks driving large trucks during the night in inclement weather often don't realize that while four wheel drive is great for speeding up in poor traction conditions, their breaking power is exactly the same - which is to say compromised when the roads are wet.

Don't let that big truck or 4WD vehicle make you think you can stop any better on wet pavement than anyone else or that you're immune to conditions that can cause a loss of control. You're not.