An approximately 42-feet-tall geyser of water spewed into the air next to Campus Bottle after a car struck a fire hydrant while trying to park April 28 at about 5:05 p.m. A man was thrown at least 15 feet in the air trying to jump over it, according to San Luis Obispo Battalion Chief Ray Hais.
The man was unconscious for three minutes, witness and construction management junior Carlos Espinoza said. After the incident, the man’s right eye was swollen and he had bruises on his shoulders. He was transported to the hospital in an ambulance.
The driver claimed he did not see the hydrant and was not driving under the influence, Sergeant Trevor Shalhoob said. He said the incident will probably be covered by the driver’s auto insurance as it was an accident.
“The biggest concern we have right now is the loss of water,” Hais said, predicting tens of thousands of gallons of water were lost.
The fire department could not turn the water off immediately because it would have cause a shock to the entire water main, which is the largest one in the city. Instead, they had to lower it to a small flow until the San Luis Obispo Public Works Department arrived.
Editor’s Note: At the request of his family, Mustang News has removed the video of the man jumping over the geyser.