Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Another wild night at the dead end

"I don't understand this disaster tourism."

After the crash
After the crash

The June 10 rescue of a woman driver who drove through a metal guardrail at the end of Cowles Mountain Boulevard and landed in a ravine happened three weeks after Navajo Community Planners’ May 19 vote to recommend installation of a barrier to close the dead end to traffic.

Dead end in the good ol' days (last month) — with guardrail

The Cottages condominium residents requested a barrier to halt activities that include underage drinking and discarding mattresses.

The barrier will be located across the boulevard north of Rainswept Way, which leads into the Cottages. Some land at the dead end belongs to the complex. Mission Trails Regional Park habitat is on the other side of the guardrail.

June 9 damage

The woman's car crashed through the guardrail on June 9 and plunged about 50 feet, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Lee Swanson said in a June 11 interview. Firefighters responded to a call at 11:45 p.m. and had "some difficulty" reaching her because of the heavy brush and vegetation. They used the Jaws of Life hydraulic tool to free her, Swanson said.

Sponsored
Sponsored

News reports did not identify the woman — described by News 10 as a DUI suspect. She was also referred to as a hit-and-run suspect.

The Reader phoned and emailed the San Diego Police Department from June 11–13 but was unable to confirm this or obtain additional information.

Brett Weiss, a Cottages resident since 1991, said in a June 11 interview that she didn't hear the collision, which a neighbor said sounded like a bomb. Since noise levels increase in the spring, she sleeps in the living room, with the TV providing white noise.

Damage allegedly done by the guardrail crasher

Weiss saw TV news crews set up on June 10. A neighbor told Weiss the rescued driver collided with a truck parked in the complex. The neighbor gave Weiss a picture of the damaged truck for this story but declined to be interviewed or identified.

Weiss recalled two other incidents when "cars went through the barrier." Both occurred about ten years ago.

One involved an elderly Cottages resident. "She was injured, but okay. After that, I think the city replaced the wooden guardrail with a metal one."

On "another wild night at the dead end," she saw a man "driving into a pole and plowing into a utility box." He then entered the complex and crashed into a tree.

In the days after the latest collision, Weiss has seen traffic increase at the dead end. People take pictures, usually solo or group selfies. A couple brought a young girl with a teddy bear to the site.

"I don't understand this disaster tourism," Weiss said.

Barrier options discussed at the Navajo Planners meeting were a chainlink fence with a movable gate (estimated cost: $3980) or a barricade (estimated: $5580.)

"The community decided to go with a chainlink fence," Ryley Webb of District 7 councilman Scott Sherman's office said in a June 11 interview. "We are working with traffic engineering to finish up the design and identify the contractor."

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Ocean Connectors Wildlife Kayaking Eco Tour, Noon Year Celebration

Events December 31-January 1, 2024
After the crash
After the crash

The June 10 rescue of a woman driver who drove through a metal guardrail at the end of Cowles Mountain Boulevard and landed in a ravine happened three weeks after Navajo Community Planners’ May 19 vote to recommend installation of a barrier to close the dead end to traffic.

Dead end in the good ol' days (last month) — with guardrail

The Cottages condominium residents requested a barrier to halt activities that include underage drinking and discarding mattresses.

The barrier will be located across the boulevard north of Rainswept Way, which leads into the Cottages. Some land at the dead end belongs to the complex. Mission Trails Regional Park habitat is on the other side of the guardrail.

June 9 damage

The woman's car crashed through the guardrail on June 9 and plunged about 50 feet, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Lee Swanson said in a June 11 interview. Firefighters responded to a call at 11:45 p.m. and had "some difficulty" reaching her because of the heavy brush and vegetation. They used the Jaws of Life hydraulic tool to free her, Swanson said.

Sponsored
Sponsored

News reports did not identify the woman — described by News 10 as a DUI suspect. She was also referred to as a hit-and-run suspect.

The Reader phoned and emailed the San Diego Police Department from June 11–13 but was unable to confirm this or obtain additional information.

Brett Weiss, a Cottages resident since 1991, said in a June 11 interview that she didn't hear the collision, which a neighbor said sounded like a bomb. Since noise levels increase in the spring, she sleeps in the living room, with the TV providing white noise.

Damage allegedly done by the guardrail crasher

Weiss saw TV news crews set up on June 10. A neighbor told Weiss the rescued driver collided with a truck parked in the complex. The neighbor gave Weiss a picture of the damaged truck for this story but declined to be interviewed or identified.

Weiss recalled two other incidents when "cars went through the barrier." Both occurred about ten years ago.

One involved an elderly Cottages resident. "She was injured, but okay. After that, I think the city replaced the wooden guardrail with a metal one."

On "another wild night at the dead end," she saw a man "driving into a pole and plowing into a utility box." He then entered the complex and crashed into a tree.

In the days after the latest collision, Weiss has seen traffic increase at the dead end. People take pictures, usually solo or group selfies. A couple brought a young girl with a teddy bear to the site.

"I don't understand this disaster tourism," Weiss said.

Barrier options discussed at the Navajo Planners meeting were a chainlink fence with a movable gate (estimated cost: $3980) or a barricade (estimated: $5580.)

"The community decided to go with a chainlink fence," Ryley Webb of District 7 councilman Scott Sherman's office said in a June 11 interview. "We are working with traffic engineering to finish up the design and identify the contractor."

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Big Swell Rolls in for Christmas – Rockfish Closure

Big wahoo down south
Next Article

Trump disses digital catapults

Biden likes General Atomics drones
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader