ESCONDIDO, Calif. – Two people were injured when a car filled with beer cans and bottles drove off Interstate 15 and landed on its top in the Westfield North County Mall parking lot early Wednesday morning.
California Highway Patrol reports that at about 3 a.m., a car carrying two people traveling on Interstate 15, near the 200 block of East Via Rancho Parkway, went off the freeway, crashed through trees and a fence and came to rest upside down in the mall parking lot.
The driver was able to extricate herself, while her male passenger was left trapped in the car, unconscious, CHP said. She ran onto the side of the freeway to flag down help.
It took responding Escondido firefighters about 30 minutes to cut the passenger out of the car. He was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital with critical injuries. His condition was not confirmed.
The car was filled with beer cans and bottles when officers arrived on scene.
The driver sustained minor injuries. She was arrested on charges of driving under the influence. Her name was not immediately released.
