A 32-year-old man died Wednesday, days after he was trapped beneath a car that crashed into a Fountain Valley tutoring center, authorities said.
Alex Martinez was among six people injured in the crash, including the driver, Peter Hauk, 76, authorities said. Both were Huntington Beach residents.
The crash also injured three tutoring center students and a 67-year-old woman.
The crash occurred about 12:30 p.m. on Monday at The Tutoring Club on Ellis Avenue near Brookhurst Street (map), authorities said. Police identified the driver as Peter Hauk, 76, of Huntington Beach.
"It was like instant smash, bang, chaos," said Dave Hill, owner of the Tutoring Club.
Hauk's car, a 2011 Buick, crashed through plate glass at the front of the business, which faces out into a parking lot.
Firefighters rescued two people who were stuck under the car, including Martinez.
"I grabbed guys and we tried to lift the car off his leg and he was just screaming, and it was horrible," Hill said.
Also injured were two 15-year-old boys, a 20-year-old man and a 67-year-old woman. One of the four suffered serious injuries.
Hauk received minor injuries, officials said.
After the rescues, the Urban Search and Rescue Team from Huntington Beach shored up the walls of the building, which received some apparently major structural damage that caused the roof to partially collapse, witnesses said.
Investigators were questioning the driver. Hill said that immediately after the crash, the driver seemed to be in shock.
"He kept saying, 'I'm sorry, it was an accident,'" Hill said.
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