A Buena Park man was arrested this week after hitting a pedestrian while driving on West Coast Highway in West Newport.
The Newport Beach Police Department was notified of a “major injury traffic collision involving a vehicle and a pedestrian” on PCH near 61st Street at 4:48 p.m. on Sunday, NBPD Lieutenant Jay Short explained in a pres release on Monday.
Joshua Daniel Baird, 22, was arrested at the scene by Newport Beach police officers on suspicion of driving under the influence.
He has yet to be formally charged by the Orange County District Attorney’s office, Short confirmed later in the week.
“Our traffic investigators are still conducting follow-up so it may be a little while before they are able to,” charge him, Short wrote in an email on Thursday.
Baird was allegedly driving a black 2000 Toyota Celica westbound on PCH when the car veered and struck a 37-year-old male Newport Beach resident jogging westbound on the north sidewalk of the highway.
“Preliminary investigation indicates the Toyota Celica lost control, drove onto the sidewalk, and struck the pedestrian,” Short wrote in the statement.
The pedestrian and a female passenger in the car suffered critical injuries, according to police. Both were transported to Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana for treatment, Short confirmed.
The injuries were considered “major/serious” at the time of the incident and police cannot release specifics since medical information is private, Short explained on Thursday. Neither have been released from the medical center yet, he confirmed.
Baird suffered minor injuries in the collision and was treated at the scene by NB Fire Department paramedics.
The circumstances of the collision are still under investigation.
Anyone with information regarding this collision is asked to contact Detective Chris Burns at (949) 644-3747 or cburns@nbpd.org.
