by Kim Gebbia
NASHVILLE, Tenn- A driver who plunged his car off a ledge in the Gulch was rescued by firefighters, then arrested by police minutes later. 49-year-old Garcia Gustavo was charged with DUI and told police he had two beers prior to driving. He was taken to the hospital and then to jail for a misdemeanor offense.
For witnesses who saw the accident it was a surprise he made it out alive. A couple near Greaves Street in the Gulch saw the car drive off the ledge and called 911 and told the operator, "Yeah somebody just drove a truck off a retaining wall over here at this construction site."
Gustavo drove his SUV drove off a rocky ledge where his car came to a stop between the retaining wall on the street and a construction site below. Gustavo told the witnesses he didn't want an ambulance.
"He doesn't want an ambulance right?" said the 911 operator. The man responds, "No, but you will need a wrecker, possibly a crane or something I don't know., I don't know how you are going to get it out of there," he said.
Police believe they know how it got in there: they charged Gustavo with drinking and driving after he turned right at the dead end on Gleaves and Overton and drove off the embankment.
"That is a good 75 feet. And if that wall hadn't of been there? He would be gone, he would be gone," said one Nashville resident who came to get a look at the ledge himself.
Eric Hoffman also came out to the site, he works on Overton street and said this road and ledge have been exposed for more than 8 years. He worries something similar could happen again whether a driver is drunk or not.
"They ought to have a guardrail especially when they get the building built," he said.
It's obvious in the daylight what lies ahead for drivers headed up Gleaves street, but he says in the dark any driver might know that not a right turn could be a near deadly wrong turn.
"Whether you are drunk or not if you don't see good, don't know the streets, the only thing you are going to see next time is a big old building. So they may not be as lucky next time," said Hoffman.
Metro Public Works went out to the site of the accident Thursday and put sawhorse barriers along the sidewalk on Gleaves. They also plan to contact the owner of the property to see about a more permanent way to protect their property and of course, drivers.
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