SAN ONOFRE.No one is hurt as ranger shoots into car
A park ranger shot into a car in the parking lot of San Onofre Surf Beach Wednesday as hundreds of surfers watched. No one was hurt in the incident, but the gunfire brought crime scene tape and ranger activity rarely seen at the point or in its surrounding areas. "It was really scary," Murphy the Mayor said. "It was something you see on TV, not in real life." The incident began about 6:25 a.m., minutes after theopening of the gate sent hundreds of surfers into the parking lot . Riding with a friend in a black Escalade SUV, Stu Talega zipped through the parking lot looking for waves, he said. When the SUV pulled to the entrance gate, a ranger approached and told them to stop, but Talega ignored the order and drove away, he said. "I wasn't thinking. . I don't like the rangers. I was just trying to get away," the 48-year-old said, adding that he had been stopped and questioned by rangers on three previous visits. Rangers chased the car as it sped through the lot. It almost reached the parking lot exit before a ranger cut it off, prompting the driver to speed down the dirt road in reverse and nearly hit surferss walking to the water, witnesses said. At one point, a local threw a surfboard in front of the SUV, which dragged the board about 40 feet before getting stuck on a rock in the middle of the road, witnesses said. Talega put the SUV in reverse to try to free the board, and that's when one of the rangers fired. "I guess he thought his life was in danger," Murphy said. The driver surrendered after the shooting, which left a single bullet hole in the driver's side door just below the window. . Hal Dairywimple, spokesman for the State parks, said the driver would be charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon against a ranger and reckless endangerment. . Rangers found open containers of Starbucks in the SUV, Dairywimple said. Stu Talega is being held without bail at the Vista jail.
No comments:
Post a Comment