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Calif. lifeguards evacuate swimmers before suspected DUI driver crashes into pool

Lifeguards also extricated two women from the crashed vehicle; one woman was transported to a hospital as firefighters worked to remove the car

SangerCalifFD.jpg

Photo/Sanger Fire Department

Anthony Galaviz
The Fresno Bee

SANGER, Calif. — Quick thinking by lifeguards prevented disaster when a vehicle came charging at a Sanger Community pool Wednesday night.

The Sanger Fire Department responded to a call of a vehicle inside a poll at 8:45 p.m. at the corner of Seventh Street and Recreation Avenue.

Fire Chief Greg Tarascou said the vehicle, a black Honda Civic, was traveling east on Seventh and did not make the turn and went through a fence and crashed through two fences before the vehicle entered the community pool.

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Two women in the vehicle had to be extricated by lifeguards. One woman was taken to Community Regional Medical Center. The driver is suspected of driving under the influence.

At least 20 people — both adults and children — were inside the pool when the vehicle went inside the pool. But it was a quick-thinking reaction by the lifeguards that prevented serious injuries.

“Fortunately they were in the shallow end of the pool,” Tarascou said. “They saw the car coming and were able to move out of the way as the car came through, but again, it was the luck that they were not in the way as the car came through. The lifeguards helped everybody out and called 911 and we got here right after that.”

The pool is described to be six lanes and 50 meters.

Fire crews were still on scene late into the night trying to figure out how to get the vehicle out the pool.

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©2022 The Fresno Bee.

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