A driver plowed through a homeless encampment on the sidewalk in downtown San Diego on Monday, killing three people and injuring six others, authorities said. Craig Voss, 71, was driving through a tunnel under a community college campus when he pulled his Volvo station wagon up the sidewalk shortly after 9 a.m., San Diego police chief David Nisleit said.
Voss was arrested on the spot. He is facing three counts of vehicular homicide, five counts of causing major personal injury and a DUI felony, Nisleit said, adding that Voss underwent a field sobriety test administered by a drug recognition expert. He did not explain or identify whether Voss was under the influence of alcohol or some other substance. He said there may be additional costs.
It was not immediately known whether Voss had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.
Mayor Todd Gloria said most if not all nine of the people who were beaten were homeless.
“They were there because they felt they had nowhere else to go,” Gloria said. This morning crash didn’t have to be so devastating. Let me make it very clear: a street is not home. ‘
Three people died on the spot. Five of the six others who were injured were taken to hospitals. Two were in critical condition. San Diego fire chief Colin Stowell said both were “awake and 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 have been taken to a hospital.
“The way he drove down the sidewalk was like he’d taken his foot off the accelerator until he got to the other side of the street,” Williams said.
There were tents on the sidewalk. Nisleit said homeless people may have driven under the bridge to get out of the rain, just before the car plowed through.
“I don’t know if people were sleeping or if people were sitting,” he said, adding that authorities rushing to seek medical attention would then focus on finding the answers to those questions.
The driver got out of his car and tried to help people before identifying himself to the police, Nisleit said.
“He cooperated, (and) tried not to run,” the chief said, correcting previous police reports that Voss had attempted to flee.
Multiple 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 area with students passing by. But the classes have been online amidst the corona pandemic
“Our crew has clearly found a tragic incident under the bridge,” said Colin Stowell, chief of the San Diego fire department.
Lisa Brotzman said she peered out a window in her tent just as the car swerved to the right shoulder, “ got out of control, ” and jumped onto the sidewalk into the tunnel where people were waiting for the rain.
“Someone was shouting, ‘Ahhh! Ahhhh!’”, Brotzman told The San Diego Union-Tribune. Two or three people were screaming and screaming. It was scary. ‘
The deadly crash highlights the inherent risks to California’s homeless population, where homeless people’s tents and tarpaulins are not only located along downtown sidewalks, but also near driveways where cars accelerate as they enter freeways. Statewide, more than 150,000 people are homeless. The numbers have risen during the pandemic that rocked the economy.