Alledged Drunk Driver Causes Cars to Crash off Freeway Embankment in Carlsbad

Updated Thursday at 8:15 a.m.

A 30-year-old Vista man was hospitalized with major injuries today -- and facing drunken driving charges -- after he crashed his speeding 2000 BMW Z3 into the back of a utility truck, sending both vehicles down an embankment and into the parking lot of a Carlsbad apartment complex, authorities said. Witnesses saw Aaron Sanchez speeding in and out of traffic before crashing into the 1997 Ford utility truck on southbound Interstate 5, south of Carlsbad Village Drive, about 7:55 p.m. Wednesday, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Jim Bettencourt. The impact of the crash caused both vehicles to travel off the west side of the freeway, down an embankment and into the parking lot at 1001 Pine Ave., the public affairs officer said. The driver of the utility and his passenger each complained of pain but did not require hospitalization, Bettencourt said, noting Sanchez was taken by ambulance to Scripps La Jolla to treat "major injuries.'' No one at the apartment complex was injured, though two vehicles parked in the lot sustained minor damage. "At this time, alcohol is a suspected factor in this collision,'' Bettencourt said. "This collision remains under investigation.'' –City News Service