Yesterday, at a Jamacha/Lomita shopping center, it turned into a nightmare when an SUV ran over a woman who was lying in the fetal position in a parking-lot aisle, leaving her unconscious with multiple fractures and collapsed lungs, according to San Diego police. The injury was reported at 1:52 PM at the center at 920 Cardiff St., just south of Jamacha Road. How she ended up in the middle of the lot is still a mystery.
San Diego Police Department Officer John Buttle told 10News the driver was a 50-year-old woman behind the wheel of a black 2010 Chevrolet Equinox who did not see the woman on the ground before driving over her.
Victim's condition and investigation
"The reason the woman was lying in the parking lot was not known," Officer Buttle told 10News. He said the victim, believed to be in her 30s, was rendered unconscious and suffered multiple fractures to her spine and ribs, along with collapsed lungs. Despite the severity of the trauma, the injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, and investigators are still working to piece together what led up to the incident.
Pedestrian safety and local trends
Pedestrian deaths and severe-injury collisions have risen in recent years across the San Diego region, complicating local safety efforts, according to regional planning documents from the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). Planners point to Vision Zero strategies and data tools as key ways to target improvements in areas where fatal and serious crashes are most concentrated.
Anyone with information about the Jamacha/Lomita incident is asked to contact the San Diego Police Department's Southern Division non-emergency line at 619-424-0400 or reach out anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 888-580-TIPS, according to the City of San Diego contact page. Officials had not released additional details at the time of reporting.
