Car hits SJ gas station wall, man walks in and asks to buy a beer

SAN JACINTO — No injuries were reported after a car crashed into a San Jacinto gas station Sunday night, Feb. 24. The non-injury accident happened at Shell, at the intersection of Sanderson and Cottonwood avenues.

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Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire, San Jacinto PD, and other emergency personnel, were dispatched to the gas station around 8:50 p.m., after receiving multiple reports of a car that crashed into the wall of the business.

Cal Fire’s Engine 78 was first to arrive at the scene followed moments later by San Jacinto PD deputies. Officials found a blue Chevy hatchback with very minor front-end damage and quickly determined neither of the vehicle’s two occupants were injured. Officials also determined no patrons or employees from the gas station were injured.

The wall struck by the Chevy had minor cosmetic damage and Cal Fire later determined the building did not suffer any significant structural damage.

Witnesses and employees at the business later said they were inside the Shell’s convenience store when they heard a loud bang and felt the building shake. When they looked outside the window, they saw a car that had struck the building and called 911.

Witnesses also reported that after the crash one of the vehicle’s occupants got out of the car, and without even checking to see if the car or wall were damaged, walked into the store and asked to buy a beer. Shell employees said the man who asked for a beer is well-known to them and possibly suffers from mental health issues. They also reported the man frequently comes into the store under the influence of alcohol and drugs and is always “rude and demanding.”

Deputies were later seen questioning the man and a woman from the car while investigating the cause of the crash. No arrests were made and San Jacinto PD’s investigation is ongoing.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.