A 25-year-old woman was seriously injured Monday when she was struck by a stolen blue Tesla whose driver took the car onto the boardwalk in Pacific Beach while fleeing from police, authorities said.
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Just before 12:20 p.m., the Tesla’s owner called San Diego police to report the vehicle had been stolen from Westfield UTC in University City, San Diego police Officer Colin Steinbroner said. The owner was able to track the vehicle as it moved and provided that information to police.
Just after 12:30 p.m., police spotted the car headed south on Mission Boulevard, Steinbroner said. An officer tried to pull over the vehicle, but the driver took off, police said. The driver neared the boardwalk, and police called off the pursuit out of concern for public safety. At some point, the vehicle struck a San Diego Gas & Electric transformer, taking power down for one customer, the company confirmed.
At Pacific Beach Drive, the driver took off heading north up the boardwalk at a “high rate of speed near pedestrians,” police said. People walking on the boardwalk jumped out of the way of the speeding car, with some scrambling to safety over the beach-side barrier.
The car struck the woman as it traveled along the boardwalk between Reed and Thomas streets, according to police. Steinbroner said that after the collision, the driver jumped out of the stolen vehicle and tried to run away, but bystanders stopped him and held him until police arrived and took him into custody.
Police said the driver is suspected of being under the influence, but did not specify the substance or whether it was drugs or alcohol.
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Lifeguards arrived to assist the woman, who was taken to a hospital with major trauma, said San Diego Fire-Rescue spokesperson Candace Hadley. Police said the woman suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries.
Lifeguards also checked out people who’d scrambled out of the path of the car. None needed to be hospitalized, Hadley said.
“This is terrifying and that poor woman,” Hadley said. “This is such a highly walked area; it is a miracle that no one else was injured on that boardwalk.”
Police said they are investigating the incident as a possible felony hit and run. Authorities did not immediately release the driver’s name.
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