Car hits building, causes gas leak and evacuation

A gas leak caused by a car plowing into a building at the luxury Promontory Point complex just off East Coast Highway and Jamboree Road in Newport Beach sparked the evacuation of 20 nearby apartments Monday evening.

Officials said the car, a silver minivan, broke through a guard rail, traveled about 15 feet down an embankment and “snapped off a gas meter and a water line.”

First responders carried the driver, an older man, out of the car when they arrived on scene at about 5:30 p.m. said Newport Beach Fire Department Capt. Glenn White. He was evaluated by paramedics, but did not seek further treatment.

Newport Beach Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Manzella wrote in an email Tuesday afternoon that she couldn’t yet provide any further details on the traffic investigation or the driver. White said the man apparently suffered from a disability.

Officials said residents were allowed back into their homes at about 10 p.m., after the gas line was turned off, though they were still without water or gas. As of Tuesday afternoon, four apartments had no access to water or gas, but a spokesman for the Irvine Company, which owns Promontory Point, said that was expected to be fixed by the end of the day.

The broken line supplied gas to one building, which included four apartments, SoCal Gas Co. spokeswoman Angela Fentiman said Tuesday.

The apartments in other buildings were evacuated out of an abundance of caution, according to Irvine Co. spokesman Mike Lyster

Lyster said the building that was struck sustained a “small amount of water damage.”

“They described that as fairly minimal,” he said. “[The water damage] will be part of the building fixes that will be going on in the next two to three days.”

Firefighters rescued two small white dogs from a neighboring building while their owners were out, White said, after searching nearby apartments and using a reverse 911 call.

SoCal Gas Co. crews investigated the affected line, a news release said. Southern California Edison representatives were also on-site to help mitigate damage.

While they waited, residents of the large development clustered in the parking lot, and the smell of gas lingered in the air.

Steve Kenyon, 64, who stood just outside a police line blocking off the affected buildings, said he had been watching TV in his apartment when he heard “a boom and the water heater go, ‘PSHHH.’”

He said he had no idea what had happened.

“I ran out and saw the car down there,” Kenyon said, then tried to dial 911.

The driver looked “shaken up,” Kenyon said.

Nearby, Jennifer Maresh and Michael Beck observed the scene from their car.

In their laps were Grover and Grommit — a maltese and a Havanese Shih Tzu mix, respectively — whom firefighters had plucked from the pair’s apartment.

“We just came back from dinner and saw all this,” Maresh said.

She said the pups had been in their cage when a firefighter brought them down.

“I know they must’ve been scared,” Maresh said.

Beck said he wasn’t too worried about the situation.

“If the worst comes to worst, we’ll stay in a hotel for the night,” he said with a shrug.

Tuesday morning, Kenyon said everything seemed to be more or less back to normal.

“We’re back in our apartment,” he said. “I was able to take a nice hot shower.”

As for Monday night’s accommodation’s, Kenyon said they weren’t too shabby. He and his wife stayed in one of three corporate suites elsewhere in Promontory Point that management opened up for evacuees.

Lyster said about 10 people took staff up on an offer to bunk at the Irvine Co.’s Island Hotel in Newport Center for the night.

For dinner, he added that staff served pizza and salad in the complex’s clubhouse. Blankets and dog water bowls were also available to displaced residents.

“So, yeah, they took care of us,” Kenyon said.