THE CLOCK TOWER at the Village Green Park in Garden Grove (OC Tribune photo).

Garden Grove’s iconic clock tower took a hit early Sunday morning when it was struck by a car driven by an suspected drunk driver.

According to police, the incident took place around 3:30 a.m. at Euclid Street and College Avenue near the northern edge of the Village Green Park in the downtown area.

DAMAGE included a dislodged handrail and facings on the tower base (OC Tribune photo).

Firefighters and police summoned because of a report of a major traffic collision arrived to find a “severely damaged” vehicle on Euclid, just south of College. The driver had managed to pull himself from the wreckage and walk to the curb to talk to officers.

A woman whose car was also involved in the incident said she was driving south on Euclid when she heard a loud crash behind her. A vehicle flipped over the top of hers and “tumbled further south” on Euclid. The woman was not injured and her vehicle suffered minor damage from flying debris.

Police determined that the driver of the wrecked car – identified only as a white male, 24 years old – lost control of his automobile while driving south on Euclid, crashed into a light pole and then the clock tower, causing the vehicle to split into pieces and fly over the woman’s car.

The man was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange for minor injuries and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Damage to the clock tower was minor. A handrail at the north end was dislodged, and some of the faux marble facings at the base were dislodged or destroyed.

Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to call Traffic Investigator Royce Wimmer of the Garden Grove Police Department at (714) 741-5230.