A driver plowed through a sidewalk in downtown San Diego on Monday, killing three people and injuring six others. Craig Voss, 71, was on his way through a tunnel under a community college campus when he drove his Volvo station wagon on the sidewalk shortly after 9 a.m., said San Diego police chief David Nisleit.
Voss was arrested at the scene. He is facing three charges of manslaughter, five charges of great bodily harm and a serious DUI, Nisleit said, adding that Voss underwent a sobriety test done by an expert for drug recognition. He did not elaborate or determine whether Voss was under the influence of alcohol or any other substance. He said additional costs could come.
It was not immediately known if Voss had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.
Mayor Todd Gloria said most, if not all, of the nine people affected were homeless.
“They were there because they felt they could go nowhere else,” Gloria said. “This accident this morning does not have to be so devastating. Let me make it very clear, a street is not a house.”
Three people died at the scene. Five of the six others injured were taken to hospitals. Two were in critical condition. San Diego Fire Chief Colin Stowell said both “awake, alert and answering questions”.
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Ronnie Williams told reporters he was one of the last to be hit by the car, describing the incident as a “nightmare, like a very fast nightmare.” Williams said three of his friends were taken to a hospital.
“As he drove down the sidewalk, it was as if he had not taken his foot off the gas until he came to the other side of the street,” Williams said.
The sidewalk had tents. Nisleit said homeless people moved under the bridge to get out of the rain just before the car plowed through.
“I don’t know if people slept or people sat there,” he said.
The driver got out of his car and tried to help people before identifying himself to police, Nisleit said.
“He was cooperative, and did not try to run away,” the chief said, correcting earlier reports from police that Voss had tried to flee.
Several ambulances, five fire trucks, a helicopter and more than 60 first responders rushed to the scene near San Diego City College, where on a typical weekday morning it is a busy neighborhood where students pass by. But classes were online amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
“Of course, our crew members found a tragic incident under the bridge,” said Colin Stowell, chief of the San Diego Fire Department.
Lisa Brotzman said she peeked out of a window in her tent just as the car swerved to the right shoulder, ‘spun out of control’ and jumped onto the pavement in the tunnel where people were waiting for the rain.
“Someone shouted, ‘Ahhh! Ahhhh! “Brotzman told The San Diego Union-Tribune. ‘Two or three people were screaming and screaming. It was scary.’
The fatal crash highlights the inherent risks to the homeless population in California, where the tents and sails of homeless people not only lie sidewalks downtown, but are also near ramps where cars accelerate as they drive through freeways. More than 150,000 people nationwide are homeless. The number increased during the pandemic that caused the economy to rise.