Driver airlifted to East Bay hospital after car goes down embankment, flips

ANTIOCH — A distracted driver escaped serious injury early Tuesday after his car ran off the road, went down an embankment and flipped, police said.

The crash happened around 7 a.m., and Antioch police responded around 7:15 a.m. after receiving word that it was in its jurisdiction. The car ran off the road on Laurel Road near Empire Avenue on the border of Antioch and Oakley, police said.

A medical helicopter took the driver to a hospital, because he was complaining of pain, police said. He did not have any injuries that were thought to be significant, police said.

Police declined to discuss what happened to distract the driver, instead saying that it will be determined as the investigation continues. Police said the early investigation led to evidence that something did distract him.

The injured man was driving east on Laurel Road and drove off the roadway The car wound up on its roof after it went down the embankment, police said.

Nobody else was injured, and traffic did not get tied up more than usual, police said.