A chaotic scene unfolded as a driver swerved dangerously across Theo Avenue, narrowly missing a truck before crashing into a culvert.
SAN ANTONIO — Julie says she and her boyfriend John had just pulled into the parking lot of a south-side convenience store when they heard a big commotion.
Looking at the I-35 access road at Theo, Julie said what they heard was a vehicle speeding off the highway.
“When he peeled out, he almost hit the light pole that was right there and he stopped and I was like, OK, well, nothing happened,” Julie said, adding the misadventure was just beginning.
“He hit a one-way sign and knocked it over, and then he jumped over like where the rocks are, and he did like maybe like two donuts right there, so when he was doing that, that’s when my boyfriend got the phone out and started recording.”
Julie said it was hard to believe what they were seeing. “I was like ‘What is he doing?’ It just happened so quick!”
Julie said the driver swerved the wrong way on one-way Theo and then turned onto the northbound access road of the highway, headed for downtown, but he didn’t make it that far. Julie said he smacked a guardrail, tipped over it, and landed vertically in a concrete drainage culvert.
It was a scary sight, Julie said. “I mean, he almost hit another truck, which you could see that truck on the video where he was doing the donuts, but the truck stopped. And he did like the two donuts, and then once he stopped doing the donuts, the truck drove off.”
Julie said when the vehicle came to rest, she called 911 and a number of people ran to help the driver, forcing the door of the mangled vehicle open and then a man with a knife sliced the seatbelt to free the trapped man from the wreckage.
The preliminary report from San Antonio police indicates the 35-year-old driver was evaluated for the possibility of driving while intoxicated, but the results weren’t available on the holiday. Police said the man was taken to a hospital to be checked out for injuries.