Cars hit motel room, light pole in separate crashes

Firefighters responded to the Costa Mesa Motor Inn early Tuesday after a driver struck the building and fled the scene, authorities said.

About 1:37 a.m., the Costa Mesa Fire Department received a call that a vehicle drove into an unoccupied room of the motel at 2277 Harbor Blvd., according to the Fire Department.

Firefighters arrived at the motel in five minutes, and they determined that the damage to the structure was significant enough that the urban search and rescue team needed to shore it up, officials said.

Specific damage was unclear Tuesday afternoon, but two motel rooms were left unoccupied. Firefighters left the scene by 3:35 a.m.

In a later incident, about 12:30 p.m. the driver of a Mercedes Benz SUV crashed into a signal light pole at Harbor Boulevard and Sunflower Avenue, knocking the light pole over. No one was injured.

— Lauren Williams

Twitter: @lawilliams30