Two people were injured Thursday when their car flipped over anembankment and landed upside-down next to Parking Structure I.
At about 2 p.m., Mohamoud Ashour, 41, was driving Julia Paredez,21, in a 1999 white Chrysler Sebring northbound in the left lane ofCollege Avenue when his car jerked to the right and smashed into thefront-left side of a gray 1997 Toyota Camry, driven by computerscience junior Timothy Mendeola.
University Police Sgt. Sonny Cavarles said Ashour had startedcoughing and his body tensed up, sending his car careening towardsthe Camry, which was stopped at the exiting ramp outside level 5 ofPS I.
Upon impact, Mendeola’s car was pushed into the wall on the ramp.
Ashour’s right front bumper hit the end of the wall and was pushedabove the 10-inch curb-and-gutter. Witnesses said they heard screamsas the car teetered on the edge of the 45-foot embankment next to PSI and rolled off.
The Sebring rolled once and landed on its roof.
Paradez, the passenger in the Sebring, got out of the vehicle afew minutes after the accident. Ashour was removed from the vehicleabout 10 minutes later because emergency crews had to secure his neckand back, Cavarles said.
Both were taken to Mercy Hospital and released. Ashour sufferedlacerations on his hands and head. Paredez suffered several cuts toher face.
At the scene, Paredez was complaining of hip pain, and Ashour saidhe had pain and swelling in his chest and he was dizzy.
Mendeolawas not injured.
Emergency medical crews and police said the victims were luckybecause they were wearing their seatbelts.
“I’m glad that nothing bad happened, it could have been very bad,”Cavarles said. “They probably wouldn’t be alive. The seatbelts savedthem.”
Graduate student Toni Trejo was standing on the footbridge to PS Iand saw the accident happen. She said she pulled out her cell phoneto call 911. She then ran down to level five to see if Mendeola wasOK.
“It was pretty fast,” she said. “It just went off the hill andpancaked and stopped at the bottom.”
Mendeola, who was on his way to work, said he had just bought theused Camry.
Cavarles said he does not recall any similar accidents in thepast.
Ashour and Paredez were driving in the area and are not San DiegoState University students, police said.
— Managing Editor Stephanie Martin contributed to this report.
