A driver died Wednesday in a crash with another pickup truck and a concrete light pole on a busy stretch of roadway near the San Diego International Airport.
Early details were scarce about the deadly crash that occurred at about 10:30 a.m. in westbound lanes just outside the U.S. Coast Guard San Diego Sector facility on North Harbor Drive near Laurel Street, Harbor Police Department Officer T.D. De La Pena said.
"At this point, all we can tell is there was a collision," De La Pena said. "One of the vehicles hit and shattered a light pole out in front of the Coast Guard station, and that vehicle came to rest about 50 yards from where that light pole was."
At the scene, a blue sedan could be seen with damage to its front hood. The roof appeared to have been cut off. Nearby, a light pole in a center median was split in two, and debris was scattered across Harbor Drive.
The next day, authorities said it appeared the driver of the sedan, identified as 30-year-old Brent Sturgeon of Spring Valley, was attempting to pass the pickup truck but clipped the vehicle instead. His car then veered off the roadway and onto a raised center median, where it struck the concrete pole.
According to San Diego Fire-Rescue, medics were called to help a person trapped inside the wreckage of a vehicle.
Before first responders arrived, bystanders were giving CPR to the driver, Pena said. Unfortunately, Sturgeon, did not survive, according to officials.
The driver of the second vehicle was uninjured. Pena said he was questioned by police and allowed to leave the scene.
A stretch of North Harbor Drive, which is a main thoroughfare to access the San Diego International Airport, was shut down for about three hours due to police activity.
Airport officials said the incident affected traffic around the airport.
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It was unclear if there were any other contributing factors to the cause of the crash.
