A flatbed truck collided with a utility truck driven by a City of San Diego Water Department employee Thursday in Bay Terraces, San Diego police said.
Both drivers were injured in the collision where Paradise Valley Road intersects with Gilmartin Drive.
The city worker was waiting to make a left turn onto Gilmartin when his vehicle was hit from behind by the flatbed truck, police said.
The 28-year-old man behind the wheel of the flatbed truck was trapped in the cabin for nearly 40 minutes before first responders could remove him. He was rushed to the trauma center at Mercy Hospital with serious leg and internal injuries.
Firefighters say speed had to do with the severity of the collision.
"The speed on this road is relatively high, so it appears from the accident itself he was at full speed for Paradise Road," SDFD Battalion Chief Alan Arrollado said. "I believe the speed limit here is 50 miles an hour, so it appears the impact was somewhere in that range."
The driver of the water truck suffered minor injuries, police said.
