Boards are now up at Pismo Beach's Ocean Palm Motel after a car went off the road at the corner of Ocean View Ave and Price St.and came crashing through the lobby Wednesday night.
“They went through the stop sign. Once it went through the stop sign, it went between two guide wires and the telephone pole," CAL FIRE and Pismo Beach Fire Department Battalion Chief Paul Lee explained.
“We heard a loud tire screech and then a crash, and then our whole house actually shook," Kimberly Palace recalled. She lives a few feet away from the motel.
It was around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday when a Chevy Cruze hit two pedestrians before crashing into the motel.
“We ran outside and then saw the car inside the building," Palace said. "Then one of the victims was right here on the side of the rocks screaming out in pain.”
Video from a nearby restaurant’s security camera shows the vehicle speeding through the stop sign moments before crashing into the building.
Pismo Beach Police say the driver is under the age of 18 and was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI.
On Thursday afternoon, they described the pedestrians conditions as stable.
Lee said there were also two people in a room next to the motel lobby at the time of the crash.
“They were obviously shocked, very scared. It was also somebody there to help render aid to that victim that was pushed inside," he said.
With the help of the rescue team, the car was removed, the structure supported and boarded up.
“Four by fours were installed," Lee continued. "Some wedges were used to prop up the existing headers and the beams.”
“The car was in completely and I'm very surprised that it's boarded up today. When we saw it today, we were like, it doesn't even look like anything happened," Palace added.
The property owners who did not want to be on-camera say that even while one of the structures is being fixed, the rest of the motel is still open for business. Next steps are working with CAL FIRE and the SLO County Planning and Building Department to make it fully operational as quickly as possible.
