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So many cars in San Diego water

La Jolla, Harbor Island, Rancho Bernardo, Del Mar

A man died after his car broke through a fence and went over a cliff into the ocean near La Jolla Cove.
A man died after his car broke through a fence and went over a cliff into the ocean near La Jolla Cove.

Since the beginning of the year, San Diego County has seen a troubling series of incidents involving vehicles plunging into local waterways—including cars, a plane, and a boat—resulting in significant deaths. While most of these accidents occurred in natural bodies of water, a few happened in man-made waterways.

On Cinco de Mayo, 911 Video News reported that an SUV crashed into a pond inside the Vista Del Lago gated community in Rancho Bernardo. First responders said the vehicle had broken through a fence before landing in the water. The driver was rescued and transported to Palomar Hospital.

An SUV crashed into a pond inside the Vista Del Lago gated community in Rancho Bernardo.

That same morning, the outlet captured another incident at Torrey Pines State Beach in Del Mar, where a 20-foot panga boat carrying approximately 18 undocumented immigrants capsized in the surf. Some passengers made it to shore, while others struggled in the ocean. Rescue crews performed CPR on three victims, but all three were later pronounced dead.

About a week earlier, a man died after his car broke through a fence and went over a cliff into the ocean near La Jolla Cove. NBC San Diego identified the victim as 76-year-old David Scott Lapensee from Florida. Six San Diego lifeguards responded and pulled him from the submerged vehicle within 13 minutes of the 911 call.

In April, a speeding pickup truck flew off Harbor Island Drive and into the San Diego Bay. Witnesses said the truck ran two intersections before launching off the south end of Harbor Island into the water—Dylan Monroe, who was fishing nearby, dove in and pulled one victim to shore.

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"By the time I had already gotten to the car, there was already one person floating.”


“I just went ahead and jumped in, and by the time I had already gotten to the car, there was already one person floating,” Monroe told ABC 10 News, “I grabbed her and just made a beeline toward the shore as fast as I could.”

First responders arrived shortly after and pulled two more people from the submerged truck. One of the victims died, and the other two were hospitalized in critical condition.

On March 6, heavy flooding turned a stretch of La Jolla Village Drive near UC San Diego into a temporary lake, submerging four vehicles. According to FOX 5 San Diego, eight people were rescued from the waterlogged cars.

On February 12, two Navy pilots were rescued after ejecting from their EA-18G Growler fighter jet, which crashed into San Diego Bay near Shelter Island. An H & M Landing charter boat was the first to respond and pulled both aviators to safety.

In January, Storyful Viral’s YouTube channel captured footage of multiple cars submerged during the wettest January day on record in San Diego.

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A man died after his car broke through a fence and went over a cliff into the ocean near La Jolla Cove.
A man died after his car broke through a fence and went over a cliff into the ocean near La Jolla Cove.

Since the beginning of the year, San Diego County has seen a troubling series of incidents involving vehicles plunging into local waterways—including cars, a plane, and a boat—resulting in significant deaths. While most of these accidents occurred in natural bodies of water, a few happened in man-made waterways.

On Cinco de Mayo, 911 Video News reported that an SUV crashed into a pond inside the Vista Del Lago gated community in Rancho Bernardo. First responders said the vehicle had broken through a fence before landing in the water. The driver was rescued and transported to Palomar Hospital.

An SUV crashed into a pond inside the Vista Del Lago gated community in Rancho Bernardo.

That same morning, the outlet captured another incident at Torrey Pines State Beach in Del Mar, where a 20-foot panga boat carrying approximately 18 undocumented immigrants capsized in the surf. Some passengers made it to shore, while others struggled in the ocean. Rescue crews performed CPR on three victims, but all three were later pronounced dead.

About a week earlier, a man died after his car broke through a fence and went over a cliff into the ocean near La Jolla Cove. NBC San Diego identified the victim as 76-year-old David Scott Lapensee from Florida. Six San Diego lifeguards responded and pulled him from the submerged vehicle within 13 minutes of the 911 call.

In April, a speeding pickup truck flew off Harbor Island Drive and into the San Diego Bay. Witnesses said the truck ran two intersections before launching off the south end of Harbor Island into the water—Dylan Monroe, who was fishing nearby, dove in and pulled one victim to shore.

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"By the time I had already gotten to the car, there was already one person floating.”


“I just went ahead and jumped in, and by the time I had already gotten to the car, there was already one person floating,” Monroe told ABC 10 News, “I grabbed her and just made a beeline toward the shore as fast as I could.”

First responders arrived shortly after and pulled two more people from the submerged truck. One of the victims died, and the other two were hospitalized in critical condition.

On March 6, heavy flooding turned a stretch of La Jolla Village Drive near UC San Diego into a temporary lake, submerging four vehicles. According to FOX 5 San Diego, eight people were rescued from the waterlogged cars.

On February 12, two Navy pilots were rescued after ejecting from their EA-18G Growler fighter jet, which crashed into San Diego Bay near Shelter Island. An H & M Landing charter boat was the first to respond and pulled both aviators to safety.

In January, Storyful Viral’s YouTube channel captured footage of multiple cars submerged during the wettest January day on record in San Diego.

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