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SAN DIEGO — A crash off Interstate 8 in Ocean Beach Saturday morning killed a 60-year-old homeless man while he was sleeping.

The wreck happened just after 6 a.m. between Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and Sports Arena Boulevard, according to California Highway Patrol.

Officers say the driver, a 24-year-old man, was going eastbound on I-8, lost control and smashed into a tree where the man was sleeping.

The 2006 Cadillac CTS then flipped several times, eventually landing on its roof.

After the collision, two people assisted the driver out of his car and flagged down a passing San Diego police officer on West Point Loma Boulevard, Bailey said.

The driver was taken to UCSD Medical Center for his injuries.

“Well it’s scary, but I got to do what I got to do to survive,” said David Young, a homeless man in the area of where the crash happened.

Young agrees living off the freeway is dangerous, but says they do it for a reason.

“It actually is safer,” Young said. “There are a lot of people going around head bashing homeless people hurting them and stuff and they feel more comfortable when they are in the limelight.”