Carlsbad CA— Early this morning, June 13, at 01:59 a.m., the Carlsbad Police Department received a call regarding a single vehicle collision in the 4100 block of Carlsbad Boulevard. The reporting party indicated the vehicle left the roadway and entered the Agua Hedionda Lagoon, on the east side of the Boulevard, approximately thirty feet below the roadway. The driver of the vehicle was observed escaping the wreckage before it became mostly submerged. The driver fled on foot northbound on Carlsbad Boulevard, towards Tamarack Avenue.
When officers arrived on scene, the vehicle was visually cleared of other potential occupants. Carlsbad Fire Department Lifeguard personnel entered the water and confirmed the vehicle was empty.
At approximately 2:39 am, Carlsbad Police received a report of a suspicious person in the 100 Block of Sequoia Avenue (approximately two blocks north of the lagoon). The officers were able to locate the subject, who eventually admitted to being the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle which crashed into the lagoon. The driver, identified as Danielle Rogel (20), was evaluated by medics and subsequently arrested by Carlsbad Police for suspicion of DUI and Fleeing the Scene of an Accident.
As of the time of this release, Carlsbad Police and Fire Departments, along with the assistance of Oceanside PD, Encinitas Lifeguards, Solana Beach Lifeguards, and S&R Towing, are working together to safely remove the vehicle from the lagoon.