Damaged Hydrant Floods Surgery Center
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NEWPORT BEACH — An outpatient surgery center was flooded Thursday night when a suspected drunk driver crashed into a fire hydrant nearby.
The accident occurred at 8:30 p.m. outside Newport Beach Surgery Center at 361 Hospital Road, said Newport Beach Lt. Jim Carson.
“It was a hit-and-run accident,” Carson said. “We have not been able to locate the driver of the car who fled on foot.”
Employees at the center were called in Thursday night to telephone patients and cancel 12 surgeries that were scheduled today.
“We have 10,000 square feet of office space, and every single inch is filled with water about three inches deep,” said center Administrator Tammy Huntley. “We have over $1 million of equipment that is going to have to be checked for damage.”
Huntley said the center will probably be closed for at least two weeks.
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