Man drives Jeep off roof of Santa Monica parking garage and lands across the street

A man was recovering in the hospital from injuries he suffered after driving his Jeep off the top of a six-level parking garage in Santa Monica early Sunday, authorities said.

The man drove off the top level of the public parking structure on 2nd Street near Colorado Avenue shortly after midnight, the Santa Monica Police Department said in a news release. Officers arrived to find his vehicle up against a McDonald’s restaurant across the street.

Two passengers inside the Jeep were able to jump out before it went off the roof, the Santa Monica Fire Department said.

The driver, a 20-year-old man from Twentynine Palms, was conscious and speaking with officers when they arrived, police said. Firefighters extricated him from the wreckage and took him to a local trauma center, where he was listed in critical condition, the Fire Department said.

Police are still investigating what caused the crash. Because the man was receiving medical treatment, investigators weren’t yet able to determine whether drugs or alcohol played a role, police said.

The top of the parking garage and the McDonald’s both sustained significant damage, the Fire Department said. A representative from Santa Monica Building & Safety was called to the scene to assess the garage’s structural integrity.

Anyone with information about the crash was asked to contact Santa Monica detectives at (310) 458-8941 or the watch commander at (310) 458-8491.