NBC Los Angeles reports that a driver is definitely lucky to be alive after losing control of his vehicle and crashing into a gas pump in Orange early Tuesday morning.
Chief Alan Valasco of the Orange Fire Department told NBC reporters that the crash happened at approximately 2:00 a.m. at the Chevron station located on the corner of Main Street and Chapman in Orange.
“That person was extremely lucky,” Chief Valasco said.
Video camera footage at the scene shows a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed. The car flew off the road, jumped a curb, and then came barreling toward the filling station before crashing into a bank of gas pumps.
The pump exploded on impact, blowing the front end of the car apart. The vehicle’s engine, tires, and other debris can be seen flying across the lot of the gas station.
Angelita Robles, a clerk at the Chevron station, immediately shut off the gas. “I could hear the guy screaming,” she said. I think he was afraid.”
Robles called 911, and emergency crews were dispatched to the scene. Firefighters were able to extricate the driver from the wreckage of his car. He was awake and alert as he was rushed to an area hospital for treatment.
Initially, Traffic Division detectives with the Orange Police Department did not know what led to the crash. A spokesperson for the Orange Police Department later said that the driver was arrested on suspicion of DUI.
