Car wraps around light pole in crash, trapping three

OCEANSIDE (CNS) – A 22-year-old man was behind bars Saturday on suspicion of felony drunken driving in connection with a crash that injured his three passengers, one who lost a foot.

Police officers were dispatched to the vicinity of state Route 76 near Canyon Drive about 10 p.m. on reports that a vehicle had struck a light pole, Oceanside police Lt. Sean Marchand said.

The driver, identified by police as Fernando Quiroz, was able to get out of the wrecked vehicle, however his three passengers were trapped inside until firefighters arrived and freed them, Marchand said.

Two of the injured passengers were airlifted to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, and the other was taken by ambulance to Palomar Medical Center, Marchand said. One of the passengers, a woman in her 20s, sustained significant injuries to her leg and lost her foot, he said.

Quiroz was treated for minor injuries at Tri-City Medical Center before he was booked into the Vista Detention Facility, Marchand said.