Four killed after truck plunges 60 feet off a bridge into a crowded motorcycle festival in California

'It was like a movie – there was instant chaos and panic,' witness says

Witnesses said the truck landed on a booth set up for a popular motorcycle attraction (AP)

Four people have been crushed to death and at least eight others injured after a lorry fell 60 feet from a bridge in San Diego.

California police said the two men and two women were among a crowd that had gathered for a motorcycle festival in Chicano park.

Highway Patrol identified the dead as a 62-year-old man and 50-year-old woman from Arizona, and a 59-year-old man and 49-year-old woman from Los Angeles.

Eight people on the ground were injured: one who suffered major trauma and seven others who had minor to moderate injuries, a spokesman for the city's fire department said.

A 25-year-old member of the US navy, Richard Anthony Sepolio, was taken to hospital with serious injuries and later arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Witnesses said the truck landed on a booth set up for a popular motorcycle attraction.

"I saw a truck come right off the freeway. It was going so fast it flew over the stage and landed in front of the stage on a tent, a booth that was set up," Chase Dameron told The San Diego Union-Tribune.

"It was like a movie. It was like in slow motion," Mr Dameron said. "Where it hit, there was dust and debris and instant chaos and panic. People running crazy."

Another witness said the truck first landed on its front, then bounced and landed on its side.