A car sheared off a hydrant in the parking lot of the San Diego Air & Space Museum on Wednesday, creating a water geyser that flooded the basement where the museum restores aircraft and stores artifacts and archives.

The extent of the damage was not immediately known.

The water shot into the air after a driver apparently rear ended the hydrant about 10:35 a.m. in the parking lot of the museum in Balboa Park. San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Capt. Tuan Dinh told OnScene TV that the driver, who was not injured, said the accelerator pedal got stuck.

OnScene TV video showed the sheared-off hydrant under the car.

Firefighters, who happened to be training nearby and heard the crash, laid down a 4-inch hose near the perimeter of the museum to divert the flow of water away from the basement and mitigate the flooding. They called additional fire trucks to assist in removing the water.

The flow of water was shut off about 45 minutes after the crash. Video from OnScene TV showed a few inches of water throughout the museum's basement.

"Job one is getting all of the water out of our basement so we don't get mold," said David Neville, the museum's director of marketing and communications. Museum staff called a restoration management company to assist.

Established in 1961, the museum houses a collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft from around the world.

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