DANA POINT : Submerged Truck’s Owner Arrested

The owner of a 1982 pickup who told police his truck had been stolen was arrested after witnesses reported seeing him drive the truck into the ocean near Dana Point Harbor, officials said Friday.

Todd Hauck, 33, of San Clemente was charged with filing a false report after witnesses told police he drove his Ford Ranger to the end of Puerto Place overlooking the harbor about 8:20 p.m. on Thursday, said Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Ron Wilkerson.

According to witnesses, the driver of the truck parked near a bait shop. The driver revved the truck’s engine, and moments later drove it off the roadway, over a rock jetty and into the water, Wilkerson said.

“Witnesses said they saw [the driver] jump out of the truck and onto the pavement hard,” Wilkerson said. “Meanwhile, the truck lands in the water upside down. And, the last time witnesses see the driver, he’s running toward Doheny State Beach.”

Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol officers arrived and with the help of a witness examined the partially submerged truck and its camper shell, checking for any passengers. The truck was empty.

“They did find a sand bag inside the driver’s compartment,” said Wilkerson. Apparently the motorist had used the bag as a weight on the truck’s accelerator pedal, he said.

Hauck called the sheriff’s office that night and reported his truck as stolen, Wilkerson said.

Hauck, whose description matched that of the driver who fled, was arrested at his home, booked into the Orange County Jail and released, officials said.

Wilkerson said the arresting deputy noticed that Hauck’s leg recently had gotten scraped--an injury that could have occurred after jumping from a moving vehicle, Wilkerson said.