A driver is in the hospital Thursday after a rollover crash off Interstate 5 in National City, authorities said.
The crash occurred around 3:20 p.m. at Mile of Cars Way and Bay Marina Drive. Authorities say the driver was traveling on northbound I-5 when, for unknown reasons, lost control and went off the freeway. When first responders arrived on the scene, they found the driver trapped in the vehicle. Rescuers used extraction tools to safely remove the driver.
The driver suffered moderate injuries, and he was taken to a trauma center, police said. No other injuries were reported.
National City, a mid-size South Bay community, is the second-oldest city in San Diego County, having been incorporated in 1887. But people may have lived in National City way before then. Archeologists, who point to the Cerutti Mastodon site, believe that human presence within the modern city limits of National City may have begun as early as 130,000 years ago. Moreover, archaic period sites have been found along the Sweetwater River, which runs through the city limits of modern-day National City.
In 1868, Frank Kimball and his brothers Warren and Levi, contractors and builders from San Francisco, bought what was then called Rancho de la Nación and began developing the city.
By constructing the first roads and railroad in what is now National City, Frank and his brothers were most notably responsible for introducing modern transportation to the residents of the community. The brothers also implemented the area’s first post office and a wharf for sea-bound imports and exports. These large ventures, coupled with smaller personal missions, both contributed to the overall goal of creating a community unparalleled to the times. A lasting mark of the Kimballs was the trees they imported and planted from Europe and Asia. These trees can be found dotted throughout the city to this day.