Update: SLO County sheriff’s deputy crashes into tree in Grover Beach. ‘He did not look good’
Update, 5:20 p.m.:
Grover Beach resident Eduardo Cavasos was in his house when he heard a recognizable noise — the sound of a car crashing into his fence.
“This has actually happened before,” Cavasos said. “Last January, one year ago at night, a car crashed into the fence, so I know what it sounds like,” Cavasos said.
In January 2020, Cavasos explained, a drunk driver crashed into a different part of his fence.
When he heard the crash at around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Cavasos said he went outside and saw that a Sheriff’s Office vehicle had destroyed the fence and patio area.
He saw his neighbor trying to communicate with the Sheriff’s Office deputy who was trapped in the vehicle’s driver’s seat.
Cavasos said it appeared the door couldn’t open.
At first, Cavasos said, it appeared the deputy was incoherent and that his neighbor was trying to talk to him and keep him alert.
Then, the deputy began to yell and curse.
“It seems like at some point the (deputy) realized what had happened and he started yelling ‘(F---, f---, f---)‘ and hitting the steering wheel,” Cavasos said.
By then, Cavasos said, he could hear sirens coming.
Cavasos said when he first saw the deputy, he seemed physically OK. However, when officials opened the door of the car and put the deputy onto a stretcher, “He did not look good,” the Grover Beach man said.
“At that point I was really worried for him,” Cavasos said.
According to Cavasos, the California Highway Patrol was on the scene Tuesday investigating the incident.
Cavasos, who rents in the Grover Beach home, said the Sheriff’s Office spoke to the homeowner about the incident and following up after the investigation.
Update, 4:15 p.m.:
A San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office deputy was on a routine patrol when they crashed their SUV into a palm tree in the front yard of a Grover Beach home, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the incident was a single-vehicle crash.
The deputy was transported to a local hospital for their injuries and has since been released.
The crash also resulted in damage to a home near the crash, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The Sheriff’s Office said the California Highway Patrol is investigating the incident.
Original story:
A San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office deputy crashed their vehicle into a palm tree in a residential area of Grover Beach on Tuesday afternoon.
According to Pulse Point, the crash was reported around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. The California Highway Patrol, Five Cities Fire and the Grover Beach Police Department responded to the scene.
The deputy was apparently traveling southbound on Oak Park Boulevard before their vehicle jumped the curb and drove into a tree in front of a home near the intersection at La Jolla Court.
A CHP officer on the scene said the deputy was transported to a hospital for their injuries.
No other injuries were reported.
As of 2:45 p.m., the southbound lanes of Oak Park Boulevard near La Jolla Court were closed while first responders were investigating the scene and awaiting a tow truck.
A parked vehicle near the crash appeared to have a flat tire and scratches along the side, as if it had been hit.
No further details on the crash were immediately available.
This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 2:57 PM.
