Twenty-five injured when San Diego cabbie drives into crowd in Gaslamp District
Twenty-five persons were injured, including a young woman who had her leg severed, when a cabdriver drove onto a sidewalk and smashed into a crowd in San Diego's Gaslamp District entertainment zone early Saturday, police said.
Twenty-three were taken to hospitals, six reportedly in critical condition. The cabdriver was pulled from his vehicle by the crowd and beaten, suffering a broken nose, police said.
The incident occured about 2 a.m. at 6th and Island avenues, in the heart of the restaurant and nightclub zone, close to the San Diego Convention Center. The cab crashed into a crowd outside the Stingaree nightclub, which was closing, police said.
More than 50 firefighters, paramedics and police responded. A dozen ambulances transported the injured to eight hospitals.
The police said the cabdriver did not appear to be drunk and no explanation for his action was offered. He was described as between 40 and 50 years old and driving an Emerald cab.
The cabdriver was taken to the hospital by police. The cab was going about 15mph, according to Maurice Luque, spokesman for the San Diego Fire Dept.
San Diego police are continuing to investigate. Anyone with information is asked to call San Diego Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
-- Tony Perry in San Diego
Photo: Cab that crashed into crowd in San Diego's Gaslamp District. Credit: Maurice Luque / San Diego Fire Department
EDITOR'S PICKS:
vigilante style justice. glad I don't live in that crazy city
Posted by: bob | February 12, 2011 at 07:36 AM
The cab driver was pulled from his cab and beaten? This story is horrible to begin with, but when a mob pulls a guy from his car and beats him...well that is just disgusting. Especially when no one knows what happened. How scary our society is becoming when something like that is allowed to happen on our American streets. I certainly hope I do not have an accident in San Diego. What is wrong with people? I hope those involved are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Posted by: Ann Russell | February 12, 2011 at 08:07 AM
The driver was pulled from his cab and beaten?! What if he had been having a heart attack or something?! Good Lord people - we are supposed to be civilized - that is just horrible.
Posted by: Robyn Pharr | February 12, 2011 at 08:26 AM
What if the driver simply had a heart attack or stroke and lost control of the car. I can't believe first reaction is to snatch the guy out and beat him!
Posted by: WDesiree | February 12, 2011 at 08:40 AM
What would be your immediate natural reaction if your love one suddenly got run over by a car? Think that this driver must be drunk or having a heart attack?
Read again. What don't you understand by " no explanation for his action was offered" . Get real people. Are we really civilized people or country. Everyday you hear shooting, mass killing, raping, beating, molesting, stealing, and so on.
Posted by: blackjack | February 12, 2011 at 01:27 PM
I'm not surprised by the crowd's reaction. There's a good chance that the people who are out and about in the "scene" have a certain type of mentality that can't process the possibility that the cab driver may have had a medical emergency that caused this horrific accident.
Posted by: Rick | February 12, 2011 at 02:02 PM
Let's see...Imagine you are outside of a club with your wife and a car comes crashing into you guys pinning her down, you're telling me you wouldn't at least want to beat the guy that did it half way to death?
Posted by: Johnson | February 12, 2011 at 02:10 PM
It was 2 am on a Saturday morning, in front of a night club.... drunk people don't think. Particularly when they are scared and in the midst of an adrenalin rush.
Posted by: Michele Powell | February 12, 2011 at 02:17 PM
The accident, terrible! The aftermath, monsterous.....is this what it's come down to in America? Are we going to resort to this kind of violence?
Posted by: TonyS | February 12, 2011 at 02:20 PM
Why don't we all wait and find out what happened before we post the mob was crazy or uncivilized. The cab driver also could have been at fault, it could have been intentional, why don't you withhold judgment on all sides.
Posted by: AGGG | February 12, 2011 at 02:26 PM
Ok folks, relax. It doesn't mean anything about 'society' if an inebriated mob beats up a reckless driver at 2a after he has plowed through dozens of people. Gaslamp is the partyzone capital of San Diego. Anyone in that area at 2a on a Saturday morning is either drunk, in a gang, or simply out looking for something. Looks like everyone found what they were looking for. Drawing some sort of conclusion about 'society' based upon the actions of that fringe is pure foolishness, at best.
Posted by: realitycheck | February 12, 2011 at 02:32 PM
It's called an "accident" Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty.. [I know, that's only on criminals, but he was treated like one.. ] Don't kill the guy. I would think, if he was reckless, he wouldn't be going 15mph, as per witnesses. I can't say I wouldn't be mad either if I was there. But we don't know the facts; the guy may had a medical emergency. We weren't there, we don't know, we can't judge.. Hope everybody is doing well.
Posted by: AStarr | February 12, 2011 at 02:39 PM
First off, San Diego is far from a "crazy city". It is very mellow down there, even downtown is not a bad place to live in. The Gaslamp District, aka the Gaslamp Quarter, is a whole area of very nice restaurants and clubs.
My guess is that it was obvious to the people there that the cab driver was running people down on purpose. He was going 15mph, so obviously he had not lost control of the vehicle around a corner or something. I would further guess that he tried to make a run for it and was stopped---or he just kept mowing people down and the crowd was trying to get him to stop, and he refused.
We'll see.
Posted by: Tom Anderson | February 12, 2011 at 02:42 PM
Guys you're forgetting that this accident happened in front of a nightclub full of drunk people so obviously that was going to happen to the cab driver. Some of you should stop pretending that you act civil when you're drunk.
Posted by: Anon | February 12, 2011 at 03:07 PM
Pulled from his cab and beaten? This man might have suffered a heart attack, stroke or other medical emergency.
Are we seeing more of this behavior or am I just getting senile?
Posted by: gilrod | February 12, 2011 at 03:24 PM
"glad I don't live in that crazy city"
Give me a break. Violence happens in every large city in the world.
Posted by: wisey | February 12, 2011 at 03:58 PM
Actually, if my loved one was hurt i'd be tending to my loved one and not the guy who hit him/her. I live in San Diego and I know how fickle the people in the Gaslamp can be at 2 am, and their reaction is not surprising. I bet that the people who were beating on the cab driver had no idea who any of the injured people were. Yes, it does say something about society. And to support these people and their irrational decision to attack the cab driver is to be a 'mafia wife' for ignorance and not thinking.
Posted by: Corey | February 12, 2011 at 09:04 PM
Californians - When you travel outside of your state, don't tell people where you are from.
Posted by: Nuts & Flakes | February 13, 2011 at 10:56 AM