Swimming Pool Car Accident, Woman Left Brain Dead, Later Dies

Late last Monday night in San Marcos, California, a 22-year-old woman was left seriously injured after becoming trapped underwater in her vehicle, following a car accident into a swimming pool.

Ashley Garcia was a passenger at the time when her 33-year-old driver, Robert Aaron Anderson lost control of his vehicle while speeding round a bend nicknamed "Roller Coaster Road", dubbed for the way people like to race over its humps.

Anderson's Kia Rio crashed through a residential fence and into a neighborhood swimming pool. He was able to escape almost immediately, but Garcia became trapped in her seat as the car began to sink upside down.

Awakened by the sound of the crash, 22-year-old Jarit Welles, a neighbor in the area, rushed to the scene to check on what had happened.

After finding out that the woman was trapped in the car, Welles dove in after her, pulled her out of the pool and performed CPR until paramedics arrived on the scene, restoring her heartbeat and breathing. Welles stated:

"It took about four minutes..I eventually got her out, but it was hard because she was [tangled] up in the seat belts."

She was taken to the Palomar Medical Centre where she remained unconscious for the past week.

On Saturday, her parents finally made the exruciating decision to take her off of life support, after they were informed that she was to be brain dead for the rest of her life.

As to the cause of the accident, impairment is not believed to have been a factor in this accident, although speeding was "definitely" a factor, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Jim Bettencourt.

As a car accident attorney, it is always upsetting to see a story like this, and this is also the second accident in the last week that I posted about involving car crashing into a swimming pool. In the one earlier in the week, I wrapped up the post by saying how lucky everyone was that noone was hurt in that collision. This was the opposite, and very sad indeed.

Neighbors around the crash site, as well as the residents of the home that was struck, have stated that there have been worries about this particular area and bend in the past. Hopefully something will be done to ensure that this does not happen again.

Our wrongful death law firm offers our condolences and prayers for the family and friends of the woman who eventually died as the result of her injuries from this incident.