Woman drives SUV into wall of Animal...

Woman drives SUV into wall of Animal Hospital

A Laguna Beach resident, reportedly upset over the condition of

her puppy, accidentally drove her sport-utility vehicle into Canyon

Animal Hospital Wednesday, knocking down a door that fell on another

woman waiting in the lobby, a hospital employee said.

The driver, 43-year-old Cynthia Hillis, and 55-year-old Aina Bayer

of Laguna Hills were taken to Mission Hospital for minor injuries,

Sgt. George Ramos said. The crash happened at 11:27 a.m.

Hillis was upset over undisclosed news she’d received about her

puppy when she got into her sport-utility BMW and put it into

reverse. As she was backing up, she hit a truck, Ramos said.

“She backed out, hit a car and when she pulled forward she drove

right into the building,” said Diane Trevor, who works at the

hospital. “I don’t know if her puppy distracted her or if she hit the

gas accidentally, or what caused it.

“She was upset about her puppy, but not so upset she’d drive into

the building. It was definitely an accident.”

The BMW hit a pillar of the building and then the front door,

which fell on Bayer.

Trevor expects Hillis will be liable for the damages.

-- Mike Swanson

Incense ignites house fire in South Laguna

A stick of burning incense caused about $10,000 in fire damage to

a South Laguna home early Tuesday, but neither of the home’s

occupants were injured.

The incense apparently made contact with moss-type ground cover in

a decorative potted plant and ignited the blaze at around 2 a.m. in

the resident’s master bedroom. Laguna Beach firefighters arrived at

the Monterey Street home six minutes after receiving the call and put

out the fire before it spread from the master bedroom.

The resident and her 13-year-old daughter were already outside

when firefighters arrived.

The home’s smoke detectors did not operate and appear to have been

disconnected, according to Laguna Beach Fire Battalion Chief Mike

Macey. It’s the second South Laguna house fire in the last three

weeks where smoke detectors were either not installed or not working.

-- Mike Swanson