Robb Field skate park crasher was asleep

A barricade and orange cone mark the point of impact from a van that went flying over a fence surrounding Robb Field Skateboard Park on Tuesday morning, January 15.

San Diego police have declared that the driver "fell asleep at the wheel" and was not intoxicated when his van reached the end of I-8 at a high speed. The driver was removed from the crushed van and taken to the hospital with minor injuries; the driver’s dog, which reportedly behaved aggressively toward emergency personnel at first, was extricated and required cleaning, as it was covered in grease and oil. Motor oil and gasoline covered the skate ramps.

On Friday, January 18, I surveyed the scene and found the skate park empty. There was a city Park & Rec employee nearby, and I asked him what happened in the aftermath of the crash. He told me that the van was removed by a tow truck using a winch by 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

When the van was pulled out, a trail of hazardous fluids was left behind. A haz-mat team was called to the scene and went to work. The city worker did relate that the sight of the crashed van in the skate pit managed to "freak out lots of skaters."