A driver who fled the scene of a Saturday morning crash later admitted to falling asleep at the wheel, authorities told InMaricopa today.

The crash involved a dark gray Jeep SUV that slammed into one of the city’s decorative rock-filled cages, officially known as gabions, along southbound John Wayne Parkway before 8 a.m.

Police said the male driver and two male passengers ran from the scene after the collision. The driver called authorities the next day, identified himself and said he went to the hospital following the crash.

Given the circumstances, police said the driver will face multiple charges, including reckless driving with a prior incident in the past two years, failure to stay at the scene, hit-and-run with injury, failure to render aid and failure to control speed.

The driver’s grandmother, 65-year-old Elda Kuyat of Rancho El Dorado, later thanked those expressing concern for his well-being in a social media post.

“My grandson has some injuries,” Kuyat wrote. “Unfortunately, overworked and tired, he lost control of the car. I’m thankful he will be fine, but most of all, no other vehicles were involved.”

Police have not formally named the driver. InMaricopa has requested the police report, which is still being prepared.

The crash adds to a growing number of incidents involving the city’s roadside gabions — the decorative cages installed along medians at John Wayne Parkway and Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway as part of a 2023 beautification project.

While many residents believe the gabions help prevent head-on collisions, research shows they are primarily aesthetic. A peer-reviewed 2015 study by Queen’s University Belfast found gabion barriers “are not a suitable safety barrier solution,” concluding they do not provide good occupant protection and can even cause vehicle rollovers.

Between 2020 and 2023, at least a dozen head-on crashes occurred near the gabions, city records show. But after Saturday’s crash, several residents argued the rocks did exactly what they were supposed to. “I won’t complain about rock cages anymore,” reacted Tortosa resident Julia Chavarria.

“For all of you that hate the rocks, they stopped that driver from going into the other lanes,” said Melanie Schaar of Santa Rosa Springs.

“Rocks did their job,” concluded Debra Richmond, from the Maricopa Meadows.

“Thankfully the driver was stopped by the caged rocks before going into the other lanes and hitting a vehicle,” added nearby Rancho El Dorado’s Bejean Page.