A popular San Diego restaurant has become the unlikely crash zone in a recurring string of alarming accidents - with cars hurtling off a nearby hillside and into its parking lot. Despite mounting incidents and years of warnings, the county has yet to take meaningful action.
Since 2021, at least seven vehicles have been seen off the road and dropped more than 25 feet down the embankment into Brigantine Seafood & Oyster Bar restaurant's lot in La Mesa. Surveillance footage captured some of the crashes, including a recent incident in which a car flipped and struck another vehicle with a person inside. The parking lot is part of a retail and office complex managed by the Westphal Company. Despite first being alerted to the hazard nearly four years ago, San Diego County officials have yet to fund or install a guardrail at the problematic corner of Fuerte Drive and Grossmont Boulevard.
In response to early complaints, county engineers acknowledged in 2021 that the site met the criteria for a guardrail. However, citing a lengthy approval and funding process, they opted to install signage instead - moving a "stop ahead" sign closer to the intersection and adding directional arrows. For years, no additional progress was made.
After more crashes in 2024 and early 2025, property managers again contacted the county, which had since gone silent. Only after a threat to notify the media did the county send workers in May to install temporary reflective pylons at the site.
Officials claim the county is juggling dozens of unfunded guardrail projects, competing with broader infrastructure needs like road repaving, bike lanes, and signal installations. Priorities are generally set based on crash data involving injuries or fatalities. However, in this case, only one of the seven known incidents appeared in the state's crash reporting database, due to a legal reporting threshold.
The county now says it will install a more visible white barricade this fall, similar to one recently added in Spring Valley, at a cost of around $50,000. The hope is that the visual deterrent will help reduce accidents without the need for a full-scale guardrail installation, which could cost upwards of $500,000. Officials are still undecided on whether a guardrail would ultimately cause more harm than good by creating a collision hazard.
As the situation continues to pose risks to restaurant patrons and staff, the county encourages residents to report road hazards through its dedicated website or the Tell Us Now mobile app. For now, however, the embankment remains unguarded - leaving the safety of diners, drivers, and employees in the hands of temporary measures and uncertain planning.
In response to early complaints, county engineers acknowledged in 2021 that the site met the criteria for a guardrail. However, citing a lengthy approval and funding process, they opted to install signage instead - moving a "stop ahead" sign closer to the intersection and adding directional arrows. For years, no additional progress was made.
After more crashes in 2024 and early 2025, property managers again contacted the county, which had since gone silent. Only after a threat to notify the media did the county send workers in May to install temporary reflective pylons at the site.
Officials claim the county is juggling dozens of unfunded guardrail projects, competing with broader infrastructure needs like road repaving, bike lanes, and signal installations. Priorities are generally set based on crash data involving injuries or fatalities. However, in this case, only one of the seven known incidents appeared in the state's crash reporting database, due to a legal reporting threshold.
The county now says it will install a more visible white barricade this fall, similar to one recently added in Spring Valley, at a cost of around $50,000. The hope is that the visual deterrent will help reduce accidents without the need for a full-scale guardrail installation, which could cost upwards of $500,000. Officials are still undecided on whether a guardrail would ultimately cause more harm than good by creating a collision hazard.
As the situation continues to pose risks to restaurant patrons and staff, the county encourages residents to report road hazards through its dedicated website or the Tell Us Now mobile app. For now, however, the embankment remains unguarded - leaving the safety of diners, drivers, and employees in the hands of temporary measures and uncertain planning.
Originally published on June 5, 2025.
