Last Updated on September 16, 2019 by CCAR Staff
Two people were hospitalized after escaping from a burning SUV, while one motorist was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and child endangerment at the scene of a two-vehicle crash in San Bernardino on Saturday, Sept. 14.
A Ford van that was traveling south on North D Street collided with a Lincoln Navigator that had been headed east on 8th Street at about 10:46 p.m., San Bernardino Police said in a Sunday news release. The SUV then struck a building and caught fire, which spread to the adjacent structure.
San Bernardino (Update): BC130 assuming D st IC. Exterior fire knocked down. Firefighters offensive on commercial structure, minor extension into building. Updated patient count: 2 immediate patients transported with burn injuries, 3 delayed currently being evaluated / treated. pic.twitter.com/VfZjlfcYHo
— SB County Fire (@SBCOUNTYFIRE) September 15, 2019
Flames gutted the Lincoln. The two occupants of the Navigator managed to get out of the vehicle, but suffered life-threatening injuries and were taken to a hospital, police said. Two passengers of the van were also hospitalized, but were expected to survive. One is a 13-year-old whose name was withheld by authorities, and the other is an 18-year-old man.
Police arrested the man who was behind the wheel of the van on suspicion of drunken driving and child endangerment. He was identified as Jeffrey Dakarai, 44, of San Bernardino. He was held at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Central Detention Center in lieu of $100,000 bail, and was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, Sept. 17, inmate records showed.
The crash remained under investigation Sunday evening. It was not immediately clear if speed played a role in the crash, or if the Lincoln had stopped at a stop sign at the intersection of D and 8th Streets, the release said. Authorities asked anyone with information relevant to the incident to contact San Bernardino Police Detective Dan Acosta or Sgt. Jeff Harvey by calling 909-384-5792.
