A man suffered a broken wrist and a hip injury on Wednesday when he fell nearly 30 feet off a freeway overpass onto a flat roof at a Secure Self Storage facility in the Old Town area of San Diego. The man, who is legally blind, told responders he was from out of town and got lost trying to find his way to Mission Valley, an area north of Old Town known for dining, entertainment and shopping. The incident occurred between 4 and 5:30 a.m. when it was still dark outside, according to the source.
The unidentified man apparently walked up a freeway ramp, possibly from northbound Interstate 5 to eastbound Interstate 8, the source reported. As he was walking along the ramp, he slipped and dangled briefly at the edge before falling to the self-storage building rooftop at 4835 Pacific Highway, according to Lee Swanson, a spokesperson for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
The man told fire crews he laid on the roof for quite a while before making his way to the roof edge and yelling for help. Dispatchers at 911 received a call about the incident around 5:30 a.m. Responders used a ladder to reach the man and lowered him in a basket carrier using the aerial ladder of a fire truck, Swanson told the source.
The man was taken to a trauma center for treatment. The man’s age or origin wasn’t immediately known.
Secure Self Storage operates three facilities in the San Diego metro area.
Sources:
- The San Diego Union-Tribune: Lost Visitor Falls From Old Town Freeway to Storage Roof
