SUV In Fiery Temecula Crash Stolen From Irish Pub, Uber Driver Says

TEMECULA, CA — A Temecula man suspected of DUI and vehicle theft allegedly left a popular Irish pub in a stolen car and crashed early Monday after St. Patrick's Day.

Shortly after midnight, the as-yet unidentified 46-year-old man left the 32000 block of Temecula Parkway in a stolen vehicle. He then drove into the Morgan Hill neighborhood and struck a fire hydrant on the 33000 block of Calafia Street in Temecula. The car burst into flames, seriously injuring the driver, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

The driver was taken by ground ambulance to Inland Valley Medical Center due to the extent of his injuries, California Highway Patrol spokesperson Mike Lassig told Patch. The man's condition has not yet been released, and no arrest reports have yet been filed.

Uber driver Greg Fairchild told Patch that the Dodge Durango was stolen outside Killarney's Restaurant and Irish Pub.

The driver of the stolen Durango was the fare he was supposed to pick up.

"I was on my way to get him from the Killarney's St. Patrick's Day event," he said. "I'd been taking people back and forth from the pub all night."

When Fairchild arrived just around midnight, he saw a woman screaming that someone had stolen her truck. The man who ordered the Uber was nowhere to be found.

"The Uber App showed he had left the area," Fairchild said. "I called him, and he didn't answer. Then I talked to the woman, who said she was the Killarney's restaurant owner. My intuition told me that my fare must have taken (her vehicle)."

Fairchild offered to use the app as a map to find the missing vehicle and drove the woman to Calafia Street, the last known location.

"By the time we got there, the guy had crashed into the hydrant, and the car was in flames," Fairchild said. "The business owner was glad she discovered what happened to her car. That rider was just too intoxicated and made a bad decision."

According to Officer Lassig, CHP officers expect the driver to be hospitalized for a few more days before any arrest is made.