No injuries were reported Nov 28, but water lines to Coast Walk homes in La Jolla were again severed for days, raising alarm about the dangers of speeding.
A car crashed into water supply lines on Torrey Pines Road just east of Prospect Place overnight Nov 28, severing the water supply lines to three Coast Walk homes in a repeat of a similar collision seven years earlier.
No injuries were reported during the collision, during which a black Lamborghini Gallardo driving westbound on Torrey Pines Road around 2:23 am collided with the K rail between Coast Walk and Prospect Place, going over the K rail and landing on the water supply lines, creating a large water spout and deploying the car’s air bags, before landing again on Torrey Pines.
The collision’s cause was determined to be due to unsafe speed, according to the police report. The driver, a 20-year-old male, was not cited as the San Diego Police Department does not cite for speed if an officer does not witness the speeding.
The car was towed; costs to replace the water main damage are unknown. Police did not immediately respond to a request for more information on the uninjured juvenile passenger.
As of the evening of Dec 1, the water to at least one Coast Walk home had still not been restored, resident Tom Rushfeldt said, though city of San Diego crews had been working for days to repair the lines.
There was no damage to the home, Rushfeldt said, as he had installed water diversion barriers after a similar incident in 2018, during which a car careened off the road at the same point, damaging water lines and causing water damage and more to public and private property.
The 2018 crash prompted the city to install the K rail to prevent such collisions; a project to replace the K rail with a permanent steel bridge rail is underway, with construction now estimated to begin summer 2026.
Despite the “uncanny” repetition in collisions, the fact that the Lamborghini did not “fly through the air and hit a car,” Rushfeldt said, means “the K rail probably did its job.”
A city spokesperson did not immediately respond to comments about the impact of the collision on the K rail project or timeline.
