Driver Hits Gas Instead of Brake, Plunges Into Lake

A driver hit the gas instead of the brake pedals and plunged a car into according to a sheriff's official.

A woman and one passenger were in a blue four-door sedan around 11:23 p.m. Sunday going through the Harveston Drive and Lakeview Road intersection when the driver made the disastrous mistake, said sheriff's Sgt. J. Larson in a written announcement.

"She accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the brake," the sergeant wrote. "The vehicle accelerated through the intersection, across the grass, over the concrete curb and into the lake."

The two escaped the car before it sank completely. They seemed uninjured, but they were taken to a hospital for observation, Larson said.

This was at least the second time this year a car was found in Harveston Lake. One was found in March, and sheriff's officials believe it was intentionally pushed in.

Drugs and alcohol are not believed to have contributed to the crash, according to Larson. Anybody with information about the crash was asked to call Officer Butts at the Temecula Police Department at 696-3000.