Driver crashes outside gay San Jose nightclubs a day before Pride

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The driver of a white Lexus slammed into pedestrian barriers in front of two gay San Jose nightclubs on Thursday night, just a day before the city's Pride celebrations are set to begin.

KTVU cameras captured the aftermath of the car with its nose in front of Mac's Club at 39 Post Street in the middle of busy downtown San Jose. Before that, witnesses said he had also careened toward Splash San Jose at 65 Post Street just before 11 p.m., crashing through the pedestrian barricades, narrowly missing the dozens of people out on the street. 

Cell phone video at the scene showed a passenger who had been in the Lexus lying in the street afterward. The video also shows the driver of the Lexus seated upright in his seat after the crash. Video shows him getting out of the Lexus and then going to sit on the curb. 

San Jose police said in a statement that the adult male driver and the adult female passenger were taken to the hospital with severe injuries.

Police said both the driver and passenger were " heavily intoxicated, and at this time, there is no evidence to suggest this was an intentional act."

Police are investigating what happened as a DUI.

Aside from the driver and the passenger, no one at the scene reported being injured. 

Jacqueline Correa, a Splash employee, told KTVU that when the driver crashed, he appeared to be intoxicated. He had been denied entry into their establishment and seemed angry. 

"He started interacting and talking to the Splash workers," she said, "I'm pretty sure to try to get inside. They told him you're way too drunk to come inside. We just saw you crash into the barrier. They told him no, he flipped them off, got back into the car and went through the barrier."

Many people were in the area ahead of Silicon Valley Pride celebrations this weekend, but they don't believe this was motivated by hate towards gay people.

Correa said she's never seen anything like this.

"I've never seen anyone with a car use it as a weapon to that extent, because I've seen fights, I've seen bad fights, and I've never seen that," she said. "It was really crazy."