A San Diego man said his car may have prevented rocks from slamming through his bedroom after a landslide in Old Town. NBC 7’s Kelvin Henry spoke to residents impacted.
A San Diego man said his new car may have prevented rocks from slamming through his bedroom after a landslide in Old Town on Monday.
The landslide happened on Congress Street at around 5:30 p.m., according to the San Diego Police Department. SDPD Lt. Zach Pfannenstiel at the scene said debris buried one car and struck one home. Four other homes, part of the same apartment complex, were evacuated as a precaution.
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WATCH HERELeo Naab told NBC 7 he was on a call in his bedroom when he heard the rumbling of the cliff collapse behind his home.
"It started to sound like somebody was just dumping rocks, and the dumping rocks was probably this landslide," resident Leo Naab said.
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SIGN UP He ran to gather his roommates. That's when one of them told him his new car was buried under debris. He thinks the vehicle is totaled, but it may have saved his life.
"I think my car kind of blocked my room from getting crushed," Naab said. "I was calling my family and basically, I was like, 'Too bad about the car, but I'm glad it blocked all those rocks.'"
Pfannenstiel said land had eroded in that area before.
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"What we believe, it was just a drainage issue, it's an ongoing issue. This hillside has collapsed before in the same exact fashion and it is believed to be private property," Pfannenstiel said.
The city of San Diego on Tuesday said its assessors confirmed the landslide occurred on private property. The building did not suffer any structural damage, but it did impact one vehicle, which belonged to Naab.
"It is the private property owners' responsibility to address the debris pile," the city said. "Since this situation falls within private property, any assessment of the landslide and its impacts on the area is the private property owners' responsibility," the city said.
Checks of city-owned water mains and storm drains would be scheduled a precaution, the city added.
No one was hurt or displaced, according to the police department.
