Oceanside DUI Suspect Hops Curb, Strikes Grandfather and Baby Grandson

At approximately 9:30 a.m. on October 18, the driver of a GMC Jimmy SUV lost control of their vehicle on Lake Street.

The truck hopped the curb, demolishing a street sign, and then traveled down the sidewalk, where it struck a 50-year-old man and his grandson, who the man was pushing in a stroller. The truck continued through the front yard of a group of attached family dwellings and struck the house at 4140 Lake Street, causing damage to the structure.

Oceanside police on the scene stated that everyone had survived. As my neighbor and I were inquiring about the survivors, a car entered the cordoned-off investigation scene. A woman got out of the car and, as she approached us, said, "So, did those boys kill someone?"

She told the investigators that she had been hiking in the park earlier that morning and had seen the “boys” there. She said they were drunk and fighting, and she had phoned in a complaint to the police. She had talked with the dispatcher for about ten minutes, she said, and she was expecting the dispatcher to call her back to let her know what happened.

I asked the investigator if alcohol was involved. He confirmed that police believe the suspect was drunk.

Update: On November 19, it was reported that both the grandfather and grandson were in critical condition and that the little boy was life-flighted to Rady Children's Hospital.

The driver was a 17-year-old boy with three boys in the car with him. Oceanside police were responding to the woman's complaint, following the SUV when the driver tried to turn too quickly into the private drive at Bay Shores South, where he lost control. The three passengers ran away, and the driver tried to drive away.