4 killed, 9 injured after truck goes off Coronado Bridge into crowd below in San Diego

SAN DIEGO -- Four people were killed and nine were injured on Saturday after an out-of-control pickup truck plunged off the San Diego-Coronado Bridge and plowed into crowd gathered at a festival below, authorities said.

The truck driver, who was alone in the vehicle, struck a guardrail and fell 60 feet before landing on Chicano Park, California Highway Patrol Officer Jake Sanchez said.

Police said the driver is a member of the U.S. Navy was driving the pickup truck. Authorities said 25-year-old Richard Anthony Sepolio, who suffered major injuries, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. He was stationed at a naval base in Coronado Island, across a bay from San Diego.

"It's horrible. It's horrific. We had innocent people down here having a good time and now they're gone," Sanchez said.

Eight people on the ground were injured. One suffered major trauma and seven others had minor to moderate injuries, said Lee Swanson, a spokesman for the city's Fire-Rescue Department.

Witnesses said the truck landed on a vendor tent set up for La Raza Run, a motorcycle ride that ends with a celebration at the park and typically draws hundreds of participants. The crash occurred in front of a stage where a rockabilly band was playing.

"I saw a truck come right off the freeway. It was going so fast it flew over the stage and landed in front of the stage on a tent, a booth that was set up," Chase Dameron told The San Diego Union-Tribune .

He said four people in the booth were crushed by the truck.

"It was like a movie. It was like in slow motion," Dameron said. "Where it hit, there was dust and debris and instant chaos and panic. People running crazy."

Photos from the scene show the truck's front end was crumpled and its hood popped open.

The park is located beneath the bridge in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood in central San Diego.