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3 Injured After Driver Veers Off Road In Street Race, Crashes Into Construction Site

RANCHO PALOS VERDES (CBSLA.com) — Three people were injured Sunday morning when a street racer lost control and crashed into a one-story commercial building under construction in Rancho Palos Verdes.

Firefighters and paramedics responded to the scene at 4 Peninsula Center at around 3:20 a.m. on a report that a car had crashed through a fence, down a hill and into the construction site.

Authorities said two cars were racing northbound on Hawthorne Boulevard, just north of Silver Spur Road, when one of the vehicles went off the road and plowed into the commercial building. The site is planned to be a location for a Chipotle and a Habit Burger.

"I had no idea what was going on, it was kind of strange at three in the morning," neighbor Ron Polonski said. "It's pretty crazy to see this kind of stuff happening here."

The car involved in the crash caught fire. The 21-year-old driver and two passengers escaped with minor injuries. The driver was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.

The other car, described by authorities as a silver Ford Mustang, fled the scene.

The damage to the construction site has been assessed at $500,000. The contractor will have to start the building over from scratch.

(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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