A car blew threw a fence and landed on a track while a soccer game was underway. The driver of the blue car is on the ground and was restrained by the police, before he was loaded to a gurney and transported by paramedics to a nearby medical center.
This editor referees youth soccer on the weekends. Working at West Torrance High School on October 19, about 27 minutes into the first half of a U12 Boys game, there was a loud crash. A blue car flew over an embankment, ripping out a steel-fence before landing on a track.
Flames were seen under the car, and the soccer players were shepherded away from the car towards the other end of the field, just in case there was an explosion.
Several parents ran to the car and helped pull out the driver, who initially appeared unable to stand. Police and firetrucks were onsite within five minutes. Firefighters doused the flames under the car and used the Jaws of Life to cut the steel fence away from the car’s frame.
Luckily, the incident did not happen earlier, because during a prior game three little boys had been playing in that area of the track where the car landed.
The Orange County Register reported (“Suspected DUI Driver Goes Airborne, Car Lands on Track at High School in Torrance”) A suspected DUI driver was hospitalized after his car briefly went airborne and flew over a fence onto a track at a Torrance high school.
The story stated “It was unclear how fast the man was going around 2 p.m. as he drove southbound on Entradero Avenue, before he went through Del Amo Boulevard and struck a fence on the perimeter of West High School. The driver went airborne and landed on the red track surrounding a soccer field, Torrance Police Lt. Charles Fisher said.”
The story also said, “Police could not confirm whether there was any activity on the field at the time.”
There was activity, there was a game, with about three minutes left in the first half. I was the assistant referee.
The center referee at that match, Stephen Resnick, spoke to reporters afterwards.
There was discussion among the refs with input from coaches about whether to suspend the match. It was concluded although the police and fire activity was now away from the field that the shock of the accident and with the ongoing police activity, it was not in the kids best interest to resume the match.
According to reports the man, who caused the crash, was suspected of driving under the influence.
As this ref was leaving the field, the next group of players were already arriving for warmups for the 3:20 p.m. game that was supposed to follow. They asked this ref, “Are we going to play?”
I responded, “I don’t know. That will be up to the next set of refs and the coaches.”