Driver of car that slammed into boardwalk at Laguna’s Main Beach suspected of DUI

Police arrested the driver behind the wheel of a sedan that rolled over a curb and through sand then struck a boardwalk at Main Beach Wednesday evening on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

Officers were summoned to the crash at about 7:52 p.m., Laguna Beach spokeswoman Cassie Walder said. The hood of the white Honda Accord was folded in half, and its front bumper was wedged beneath the boardwalk’s planks in photos posted to social media.

The driver of a sedan that crashed into the boardwalk at Main Beach Wednesday evening was arrested on suspicion of DUI.

(Courtesy of Heidi Miller)

A beam underneath the walkway just west of Pacific Coast Highway at Broadway was also damaged, Walder said. No injuries were reported.

Heidi Miller was running an errand at a business she owns across the street and was at the scene shortly after the collision happened. She recalled the deep creases apparently left by tires leading up to the wrecked car.

“I’m amazed it got slowed down by all that sand and still managed to crash that hard,” she said.

Miller said she has seen a vehicle fail to turn at the T-intersection at least four times over the past four years. There is a traffic signal there, but she noted that the curb is the only physical barrier preventing drivers from driving into the sand.

“I feel like the city should put something there,” she said. “But, then again, if someone’s just going to sail through an intersection, a car might just run through whatever was put up too.”

She said she saw what appeared to be containers for alcohol on the roof of the car as police interviewed its driver Wednesday evening. He was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, Walder said.

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