Vehicles crash into La Mesa car dealer’s lot

On November 21 at approximately 2:30 p.m., a truck and SUV crashed into parked cars at the Truck & SUV Center, located on the corner of Lake Murray Boulevard and Parkway Drive in La Mesa.

The western end of Parkway Drive was blocked to oncoming traffic because of the accident, and the chaotic scene was crowded with La Mesa police cars, a fire engine, and an ambulance.

According to police officers, a man had a “medical seizure” and lost control of his truck, which was the cause of this misfortune.

According to Sam, the manager of the Truck & SUV Center, the man who reportedly had the seizure was headed onto the I-8 west onramp that runs parallel to the western end of Parkway Drive. Suddenly, his truck came toward the car dealer’s parking lot at a high rate of speed. Sam said he thought the truck was headed toward him at 50 miles per hour. It’s speculated that the man had his foot pressed to the gas pedal while in distress.

The truck went through the fence that separates the onramp from Parkway Drive. It was headed straight to the Truck & SUV Center but on the way, the truck hit an SUV that was traveling up Parkway Drive. This crash pushed the SUV onto the curb surrounding the dealership.

Police said the crash could have been worse. According to an eyewitness, the truck and SUV just missed having a head-on collision. Sam said that the crash caused four of his parked cars to be damaged. His coworker commented that it was good that they had insurance.

Sam said he was glad that his stock of cars were there because they stopped the truck and SUV from driving into his office. Even a tree was involved in the accident — it had to be cut away from the truck before the man could be extricated and taken to the hospital.

At first, one of the women police officers said the man had died. It was later confirmed that there were no deaths at the scene.

A torn fence, sawed-up tree, four damaged cars, a truck, an SUV, and hours later, everything was back to normal at the intersection. Except for Sam, who was calling it “the scariest day of [his] life.”