Authorities are searching for a driver who crashed into a parked RV in La Mesa earlier Thursday.
The crash occurred around 12:30 a.m. Thursday at Pasadena Avenue near Spring Street, according to the La Mesa Police Department.
La Mesa police Lt. Matt Conlon told NBC 7 on Thursday morning that his department was first notified about the crash when 911 operators got a notification from a cell phone company that has an alert system to notify first responders when a person with one of their phones is involved in a collision.
When police arrived, they found a 2017 Infiniti sedan, which had gone down an embankment before becoming airborned and striking the roof of the house and eventually coming to rest inside the back end of the RV.
Tom Villarreal said he was asleep in bed with his wife Christie when the car hit the house, which has been in her family her entire life. He said nobody was hurt in the house. Traces of blood, however, were visible on the driver-side door of the Infiniti. Conlon said witnesses had told investigators that two people fled the scene on foot.
Sadly, the crash cost the Villareals both of their homes, since they cannot occupy either — Tom said he expected the fifth-wheeler is a total loss, one that, luckily, he is insured for.
The driver was at large, police said. Conlon said the vehicle is registered in Phoenix.
“We have nobody to blame right now,” said a tearful Christie, adding later, “you destroyed our dreams, you’ve cost us money, you’ve destroyed my family’s house that’s been in the family forever … how would you like me to do that to yours?”
Later in the day, the city of La Mesa sent out the following statement:
“The city of La Mesa takes road safety concerns very seriously. Approximately 18 months ago, the city performed a traffic safety engineering analysis in this area, leading to the installation of a new guardrail and a gate at the adjacent driveway to improve safety. Traffic-engineering staff is currently investigating the circumstances of this latest incident to assess what additional improvements may be feasible — taking into consideration factors such as nearby residential driveways and the fire-access driveway.”
La Mesa City Councilwoman Laura Lothian told NBC 7 that the Villarreal family has been here since Day 1 of the existence of La Mesa and has been warning the city for decades that this could happen. They’ve been asking for protection, she added and said she was going to do everything she could to make sure they get it.
“We don’t want to wait for someone to be killed,” Lothian said.
The councilwoman added that she plans to ask traffic engineers for a survey of the area and maybe install bollards to make sure a repeat of the incident could never happen.
Authorities urged anyone with information related to the crash to call the police at 619-667-1400.or Crime Stoppers at 619-235-8477.
With reporting by NBC 7’s Dana Williams — Ed.
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