Man pinned under gas pump after driver crashes into Escondido station

A two-car collision on East Valley Parkway ended up toppling a gas pump onto a man who just filled his tank.

The whole thing was caught on security camera. NBC 7’s Dave Summers gives a closer look at the video, and the unexpected outcome.

If you’ve never felt like a sitting duck pumping gas in your tank, you just might after seeing this.

Video shows the man just finishing up fueling his Scion and was hit a second after hanging up the pump. He became trapped beneath the pump with a head injury and had to be rescued.

“That is crazy, it's just insane," said Elizabeth Morales.

Elizabeth Morales's father Juan was behind the wheel of the red Ford Explorer that crashed into the pump.

“Our prayers go out to the other guy that was involved in that that’s pretty harsh, we’re just thinking about him," Morales said.

How Morales ended up here, you could say, is just as precarious. Nineteen seconds after an eastbound Escondido police officer passed the Mobil gas station on Valley Parkway at Rose Street. At that very location, Morales was westbound and collided with the white Chevy van which appears to be changing lanes.

Morales' daughter says Juan’s reflexes guided him right into the gas station. But the driver of the van became trapped inside and had to be rescued.

"Anything could happen in the blink of an eye, it was just all a blur for him," said Morales.

Valley Parkway is a four-lane road, two lanes going east, two lanes going west and a turn lane. The posted speed limit is 35 miles per hour. Mobil Station Night Manager Victor Mendoza told NBC 7's Dave Summers at its busiest, traffic is going about 45 or 50 miles per hour. He said there have been accidents here in the past but none this unusual.

“A lot of the times people don’t really tend to see or manage the speed they are going at or really look at their surroundings," Mendoza said.

Mendoza said the area is a destination for many things. There is fuel, a shopping center, a Walgreens and restaurants.

“People are running late or just in a hurry, like I said, it's just a busy, fast street," Mendoza said.

Morales works as a custodian at Heritage Charter School east of the gas station. He was on his way to lunch at Vallarta’s just a few blocks west of it at the time of the collision.

“My dad is doing really good, thanks to God, all things to him because it could have gone so many different directions," Morales said.

The bollard in front of the pump did not stop the collision but thankfully other safety measures prevented a spill or fire.
Still, take some free advice from Mendoza.

"It kind of opens your eyes. It could be someone just pumping gas normally and without you even you know, it happens, you can get hurt," Mendoza said.

Escondido police said no one was cited. All three drivers were treated for minor injuries at the Palomar Medical Center.