A 44-year-old man was killed Friday afternoon, June 24, as he lay near some woods in an Encinitas parking lot when the driver of an SUV plowed into a tree and hit him, authorities said.
It happened shortly before 3:45 pm in the parking lot of Enterprise Bank & amp; Trust North on El Camino Real about a half-mile north of Encinitas Boulevard, according to San Diego sheriff’s Lt. David Collins.
Sheriff’s officials said the victim was lying on some grass on the ground outside the parking lot when he was hit. He died on the spot.
It is unclear why the driver of the SUV, a 61-year-old woman, drove off the road and into the woods.
Sheriff’s officials initially said deputies arrested her on suspicion of driving under the influence. But a news release hours after the crash said investigators “have not yet determined whether alcohol or drugs were a factor.”
The incident on Friday, June 24 was at least the third time in the past three years that drivers in San Diego County have crashed on the roads and killed people who were sleeping or sitting on the ground.
On July 4, 2019, a driver slammed into the seat of a bus in Mission Valley, killing two homeless men and seriously injuring a woman who was parked behind her. Last year, a driver plowed into a crowd of homeless people in tents, killing three and injuring several others in a tunnel under San Diego City College.
Anyone with information about the Friday, June 24 fatal crash is asked to contact the Sheriff’s North Coastal substation at (760) 966-3500.
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