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Man drives Jeep off 6-story roof of Los Angeles-area garage

February 23, 2020 GMT

In this early Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020 photo released by the Santa Monica Fire Department shows a vehicle that plunged into the sidewalk in Santa Monica, Calif. A man was hospitalized after driving his Jeep off the the sixth floor of a Los Angeles-area parking garage. Responding officers found the destroyed vehicle up against a McDonald's restaurant across the street from the public parking structure. The 20-year-old driver was conscious and speaking with officers when they arrived. He was transported in critical condition. Fire officials say two passengers inside the Jeep were able to jump out before it went off the roof. The cause of the crash is under investigation. (Santa Monica Fire Department via AP)

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — A man drove his Jeep off the the sixth floor of a Los Angeles-area parking garage early Sunday and was taken to a hospital in critical condition, authorities said.

When officers arrived shortly after midnight, they found the destroyed vehicle up against a McDonald’s restaurant across the street from the garage in Santa Monica, police said.

They said the 20-year-old driver, who was not immediately identified, was conscious and speaking with officers when they arrived.

Firefighters extricated him from the wreckage and took him to a local trauma center, where he was listed in critical condition, the Santa Monica Fire Department said.

Two passengers inside the Jeep were able to jump out before it went off the roof, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Police in the coastal city were investigating the cause. Because the man was receiving medical treatment, investigators weren’t yet able to determine whether drugs or alcohol were a factor, the newspaper said.