Police say a man was arrested on suspicion of DUI this afternoon after crashing his SUV into a North Long Beach home, injuring two women inside.
The wreck happened at about 1:50 p.m. on Bort Street just east of Long Beach Boulevard, according to Long Beach police.
It left the front quarter of the vehicle embedded in the home with a trail of damage behind it, including a bent parking sign near the intersection.
Investigators determined that a man driving an SUV crashed into a home, injuring two women inside when they were struck by debris, LBPD spokesperson Andres Bonilla wrote in an email.
After being medically cleared, the driver was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, Bonilla said. His name and age were not immediately available.
The two women inside the home were taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, he said.
A neighbor, Chris Scott, said he heard “a loud boom” from the crash and rushed outside to see smoke coming from the SUV.
He said it wasn’t surprising to see it, given how drivers speed through his neighborhood with regularity.
“We really need some speed bumps around here,” Scott said.
City officials have acknowledged that speeding is a problem in the area. They’re planning to install an automated speed camera on Long Beach Boulevard, a few blocks to the south.
That camera and 17 others could start issuing tickets as soon as the fall. It’s part of a state-approved pilot program to test the technology and see if it deters reckless driving.
Long Beach lobbied to be part of the experiment as it struggles to reduce fatal crashes, which reached their highest point in more than a decade last year.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that the driver was arrested on suspicion of DUI.