An allegedly drugged man fleeing the scene of a minor car crash took a Highway 99 off-ramp too fast Wednesday and sailed through the air over bushes, a Nissan car and then flipped over into a ditch near Harney Lane.
David Rojas, 30, of Stockton, received major injuries to his lower extremities and was taken by medical helicopter to a hospital, California Highway Patrol Officer Angel Arceo said.
Rojas, who was driving a relative’s truck, will be arrested for driving under the influence of drugs, as well as hit-and-run, Arceo said. He would not say what kind of drugs Rojas had allegedly taken.
The 2:40 p.m. crash closed the southbound Harney Lane ramps for about an hour as firefighters and paramedics tended to the injured, officers investigated and tow truck drivers cleaned up debris and dragged away the demolished vehicles.
The miraculous part of the crash was that Rojas’ vehicle went airborne high enough that it didn’t completely crush a red Nissan car driven by James Manning, who was on the southbound on-ramp. Had Rojas’ green 1999 Chevrolet Suburban truck had a bit less speed, or plowed through the bushes milliseconds earlier, Manning wouldn’t have walked away from the crash.
The incident started minutes earlier when Rojas allegedly rear-ended a Pontiac G6 at the southbound Turner Road off-ramp, at Pioneer Drive.
That car’s driver, 22-year-old Michael Hayashi, said he had finished classes at Sacramento City College and exited the highway, headed for his father’s business, Gary’s Barbershop on Lockeford Street. Hayashi, of Tracy, said he stopped at the stop sign, but that Rojas did not, rear-ending him.
Hayashi followed the truck to Zupo Field on Lockeford Street, where Rojas stopped.
“I figure he’s going to stop, like a decent human being,” Hayashi said.
“I get out and look at the back of my car, and he takes off.”
Hayashi followed the truck, which got on the freeway and headed south. He said he lost track of the truck when it surpassed speeds of 70 mph. Rojas took the Harney Lane off-ramp, which curves sharply to the right. His truck sailed straight through the green brush, hit a curb and went airborne, said CHP Officer Roberto Iniguez.
The truck lost a tire as it smashed the Nissan’s hood and shattered the windshield. The truck then continued through more bushes, over a fence and flipped over onto its roof.
Rojas and his passenger, Amelia Prewitt, were both suspended inside the truck from their seat belts, which prevented them from hitting the truck’s ceiling. Prewitt suffered minor injuries and was taken by ambulance to Lodi Memorial Hospital.
Rojas was taken by ambulance to nearby Reynolds Ranch, where a helicopter picked him up and took him to San Joaquin General Hospital.
Manning had a minor complaint of pain but did not need an ambulance.
Hayashi, who was the victim in the original hit-and-run, did not think he was injured but was also both dazed and mad about the whole thing. The damage to his car was so minor that the bumper wasn’t even dented and only needs to be repainted.
“He did all that,” Hayashi said as he pointed at the flipped truck, then back at his bumper, “for this.”