Gusher erupts after fire hydrant sheared in Monterey Hills hit-and-run

MONTEREY HILLS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A hit-and-run driver slammed into a fire hydrant in Monterey Hills early Tuesday morning, authorities said, shearing the fireplug and sending a gusher of water some 200 feet into the air.

The crash happened around 2:25 a.m. in the 3600 block of Monterey Road, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollenbeck Division said. The driver fled the scene before officers and firefighters responded.

News video showed water raining down on parked vehicles and at least one residential structure.

Los Angeles Fire Department personnel apparently opened up another nearby hydrant, perhaps to relieve the water pressure. A group of firefighters, covered by a yellow tarp, approached the sheared hydrant and eventually turned off the geyser-like flow of water.

No description of the hit-and-run driver or the vehicle was immediately available.