CARLSBAD -- A suspected drunken driver was severely injured when his car apparently veered off a Carlsbad roadway, struck a tree and caught fire, authorities said.
Police sent to investigate the crash on Alga Road near Corintia Street found the badly injured 27-year-old man unconscious and pinned in the driver’s seat of a wrecked 1997 Toyota Camry around 10:45 p.m. Wednesday, the Carlsbad Police Department reported. A fire started in the Toyota's engine compartment after it struck a large tree in the center median of Alga Road.
Three officers freed the driver and subdue the flames, police said. Paramedics took him to Palomar Medical Center to be treated for major injuries.
Police said alcohol was believed to have been a factor in the crash.
