A young driver allegedly under the influence of alcohol crashed a pickup truck through a fence and into the California Aqueduct in Palmdale, authorities said Wednesday.
The single-vehicle crash was reported at about 2 p.m. Tuesday at the aqueduct near 47th Street East and Barrell Springs Road, according to the California Highway Patrol.
“The adult male driver was the sole occupant and was arrested for misdemeanor DUI,” said CHP Officer Jordon Church, a spokesman for the agency’s Antelope Valley-area office.
The driver, who appeared to be in his early 20s, managed to self-extricate from the vehicle and make it out of the water, but the pickup became completely submerged and was later pulled out of the aqueduct with a tow truck’s cable.
Divers had gone into the water earlier to make sure there was no one else in the vehicle, Church said.
“A pellet gun was located inside the involved vehicle. It was examined and ultimately left secured in the vehicle, which was towed from the scene,” the officer said, adding that the crash caused damage to the perimeter fence, but not to the aqueduct itself.
A Los Angeles County Fire Department helicopter also joined in the crash response.