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A driver suffered serious injuries after his pick-up truck flew off a San Diego freeway, plummeting at least 50 feet and crashing into a Dave & Buster's on Sunday.
Fox San Diego reported that the driver was on the connector-ramp from the westbound 8 Freeway to northbound 805 Freeway when a tan car tapped the back of his yellow Ford F-350 truck around 3 p.m. (Witnesses told NBC San Diego that the driver of the tan car was driving erratically.) The pick-up truck spun on the freeway, hit a guardrail and came crashing down at least 50 feet. It hit the roof and side of a Dave and Buster's located at 2931 Camino Del Rio North before landing upright in the parking lot.
Firefighters had to cut open the roof of the truck to pull out the driver, who was described as a man in his mid-30s. His legs and chest were trapped under the dashboard, reported U-T San Diego.
The driver complained of major back pain and was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital for his traumatic injuries.
"He’s lucky he landed the way he did, and he’s fortunate to be alive,” San Diego Fire Department Capt. Chad Willenberg told NBC San Diego.
There was nobody else in the pick-up truck, and nobody was injured at Dave & Buster's.
Fox San Diego reported that a friend of the injured driver described him as someone who works for the U.S. Navy, and has a pregnant wife and son.
Witnesses said the driver of the tan car fled the scene. Although authorities do not have a license plate or description of the driver, the CHP is searching for a tan SUV or a truck with a camper and damage to its left side.
