Car Crash Shears Fire Hydrant On Whitewood Road In Murrieta

MURRIETA, CA — A solo-car crash Tuesday night in Murrieta sheared a fire hydrant and forced the closure of Whitewood Road due to flooding.

The crash was reported just before 8 p.m. on the southbound side of the road, just before the Meadowlark Lane intersection.

For reasons under investigation by Murrieta police, a man driving a Nissan Sentra lost control of the car and hit a fire hydrant and a road sign before coming to rest in the roadway, according to photographer Joe Fanaselle who was at the scene.

The hydrant was sheared from its base and thrown approximately 40 feet down the road. The result was a water geyser shooting about 50 feet into the air, the photographer reported.

The driver, who was the only person in the car, was not injured and drugs and/or alcohol were not believed to be crash factors. The man was not arrested at the scene, the photographer observed.

All southbound lanes of Whitewood Road were closed for approximately 50 minutes as firefighters worked to shut down the water.

The car had to be towed, and the roadway was reopened just before 9 p.m.