SAN DIEGO -- A grandfather is recovering in the hospital after a collision in Mira Mesa Thursday night.
Sixty-year-old Richard Cabral was just moments from arriving home from work when witnesses said another car ran a red light and smashed into him at the intersection of Mira Mesa Boulevard and Parkdale Avenue just before 7 p.m.
"It was like a normal occurrence when I heard the boom and then I told my mom, dad is almost home, I hope it's not him," his daughter Jennifer Cabral said.
Richard Cabral’s children and grandchildren heard the crash and came running out to find him lying in the middle of the intersection. He'd been thrown from the passenger side of his 1957 Chevrolet truck.
Remarkably, he wasn't seriously hurt. His beloved truck was smashed.
"We actually have a nickname for it, it's called Betsy," Jennifer said.
The classic truck had been passed down 3 generations.
"It's very sad actually. We have so much history in it, all of us kids rode in it.”
Her dad had lap belts installed in the truck, but there was no shoulder strap. He was kept in the hospital overnight for observation.
The driver who struck Cabral was not seriously hurt.
