La Jolla crime and public safety news: Village gas leak, coronavirus numbers, police blotter

Gas leak prompts some to leave homes

A handful of La Jolla residents left their homes after a gas leak in the heart of The Village the morning of Oct. 15, but no injuries were reported.

One resident said a car hit a ¾-inch San Diego Gas & Electric gas line in the 7400 block of Girard Avenue near the alley of Pearl Street.

An SDG&E spokesman said the situation was controlled less than an hour after it was reported.

A gas leak prompted some La Jolla residents to leave their homes after a car reportedly crashed into a gas line. (The La Jolla Light has obscured the license plate numbers of the vehicles pictured at the scene.)

(Ariel Wagner)

Ariel Wagner, who lives behind the building where the gas line was struck, said the crash sounded like a “loud dump truck” but she didn’t think much of it at the time. A few minutes later, however, a police vehicle went through the alley near her home with a message over a loudspeaker that there was a gas leak and the area might be evacuated.

“They said they were just [evacuating] our block, including our building,” Wagner said. “People across the street were asking if they should evacuate and fire department [officials] said no. By then we could smell the gas, so we left.”

Wagner and her family left their home for a little over an hour, until a neighbor sent a text message indicating it was OK to return.

When they got back, she saw SDG&E crews working at the broken gas line, she said. The Tesla that struck it had been removed.

“The car that did the damage normally parks there; I think they work or live nearby,” Wagner said. “The gas main didn’t have a bollard in front, but I’m sure it will now.”

SDG&E did not respond to a request for information about whether or how the gas line might be further protected.

Coronavirus by the numbers

The San Diego County Health & Human Services Agency posts an updated list of coronavirus cases by ZIP code, including rates per 100,000 residents. Through Oct. 8, ZIP code 92037 (estimated population 43,400) had a total of 7,823 registered cases (up by 33 from the previous count) and 18,073 per 100,000. ZIP code is the code of residence, which may not be the location of exposure.

The county also posts a list by ZIP code of the number of residents who have completed a “primary series” of the COVID-19 vaccine, defined as two doses for people older than 5 for two-dose vaccines. For ages 6 months to 4 years, a primary vaccine series is defined as three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or two doses of the Moderna vaccine.

Through Oct. 12, 36,476 residents of the 92037 ZIP code had completed a primary vaccine series and 24,911 were fully vaccinated and had received a booster dose.

Police blotter

Further details were unavailable from San Diego police.

Sept. 16

Fraud: 300 block Nautilus Street, noon

Sept. 18

Felony assault with a deadly weapon: 2500 block Torrey Pines Road, 12:30 p.m.

Oct. 3

Fraud: 7900 block Prospect Place, 1 p.m.

Oct. 7

Residential burglary: 2600 block Torrey Pines Road, 7:15 p.m.

Oct. 10

Felony vehicle theft: 400 block Coast Boulevard, 8:45 a.m.

Felony grand theft: 2400 block Torrey Pines Road, 10:30 p.m.

Oct. 11

Felony vehicle theft: 7900 block Ivanhoe Avenue, 4:15 p.m.

Commercial robbery (no weapon): 7400 block La Jolla Boulevard, 8:37 p.m.

Oct. 12

Felony grand theft: 1100 block Prospect Street, 8:45 a.m.

Oct. 13

Residential burglary: 1400 block Cottontail Lane, 4 p.m.

Oct. 14

Felony vehicle theft: 600 block Tourmaline Street, 4:45 p.m.

— Compiled by Ashley Mackin-Solomon from police and other local reports ◆