Driver Seriously Hurt When Car Hits Water Main, Store

A 19-year-old Glendale man was in serious condition Saturday after he apparently lost control of the car he was driving and struck a water main before slamming into the brick exterior wall of a shoe store, authorities said.

Okeme Oziwo was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center where he was treated for a broken leg, cuts and bruises, said Glendale Police Sgt. Bill Halvorsen.

Oziwo, who lives in the 600 block of North Kenwood Street, was traveling southbound on South Glendale Avenue about 4:30 a.m. when he veered off the roadway and crashed into Sorrentino’s Orthopedic Shoes, Halvorsen said.

“He took a chunk out of the corner of the building and hit an aboveground water main. The car was wiped out,” said business owner Tony Sorrentino, who leases the retail space at 208 S. Glendale Ave.

Sorrentino said he was called to the store by authorities shortly after the accident occurred to turn off the water. There was no water damage to the business, he said.