ESCONDIDO – An 18-year-old woman was killed and two others injured in a car wreck Friday night. Escondido police said the unidentified woman died when she tried to make a left turn at the intersection of Escondido Boulevard and Centre City Parkway in a 1998 Mitsubishi Mirage. She pulled out in front of a driver in a 1994 Nissan pickup truck and the two cars collided. The woman died at the crash site and her 16-year-old passenger was described as having serious injuries. The truck’s driver suffered minor injuries. Alcohol was not believed to be a factor in the crash.

NATIONAL CITY — Police are looking for armed carjackers who shot a man five times in the back, leaving him critically wounded, and then may have staged another violent robbery in Ocean Beach. The 26-year-old victim, identified by police as Sean Simpson, had just gotten home from a friend’s house and was in the parking lot of his gated apartment on J Avenue near East Third Street about 1:10 a.m. when he was approached by two men, National City police Sgt. Mike Harlan said. Residents reported hearing gunshots and Simpson yelling for help, and when police arrived they found him lying on the ground. Simpson, who had just celebrated his birthday Wednesday, was not able to provide police with a description of the men, the sergeant said. Detectives taped off the parking lot, where they found numerous shell casings and interviewed several neighbors looking for witnesses. The car was described as a four-door, 2004 gray Toyota Corolla with California plates 5HLJ716. It is registered to Simpson’s fiancee’s mother, Harlan said. Simpson was rushed to an emergency room, where he underwent surgery and was listed in critical condition. “He’s fighting for his life,” Harlan said. About two hours later, three men in a similar vehicle pulled up to the Ocean Beach International Hostel on Newport Avenue near Cable Street, San Diego police Lt. Andra Brown said. Two of them got out and approached three women in their 20s visiting from Dublin, Ireland, who were sitting on the front steps, Brown said. One of the men grabbed one of the women by the arm, put a handgun against her cheek and told her to hand over her purse, Brown said. She thought at first that the man was joking and that the gun was a toy, but when she didn’t comply he got very aggressive with her, Brown said. He pressed the gun harder into her face and said, “Give me the (expletive) bag or I’ll shoot you,” the lieutenant said.
The men took the purses of all three women and drove off. The tourists, who were visiting friends at the hostel and staying elsewhere, lost phones, wallets and their passports, Brown said. The car was last seen heading east on Newport. The thieves were described as black, 20 to 25 years old, about 5 feet 9 to 6 feet tall, wearing dark hooded sweatshirts and gray bandannas covering their faces. National City and San Diego police detectives are working together on the case and are asking for the public’s help. “These crimes are very vicious, brutal and senseless,” Sgt. Mike Harlan said.

SAN DIEGO — The man who fell some 50 feet from aloft on the Star of India died from injuries he suffered in the fall, the Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday. It still has not been determined, however, if 68-year-old Gregory Gushaw of Coronado suffered a heart attack or other medical emergency prior to the Sunday morning accident, investigators said. A witness who saw Gushaw in the rigging just seconds before he fell said it appeared that may have been the case. An autopsy found that the Gushaw died from blunt force injuries of his head, neck and chest. He was rescued in minutes from the water by fellow volunteers who performed CPR on him after the 10:15 a.m. accident but he died at a hospital about 40 minutes later. An investigator with the Medical Examiner’s Office said that the complete report will most likely not be completed for two to three weeks. Gushaw was a beloved, long-time volunteer and docent for the Maritime Museum. He was undergoing a training exercise on the rigging and was moving from one point to the other when he fell, hit his head on the ship and landed in the water.

A man was arrested early Tuesday on suspicion of drunken driving after crashing an SUV into a condominium in the College Area. The crash was reported at the complex on Collwood Boulevard near Montezuma Road at 1:45 a.m., a dispatcher with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said. A woman inside the home was not injured. The driver’s name was not released.

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating Sunday’s accident that claimed the life of a volunteer aboard the Star of India. Gregory Vance Gushaw, 68, of Coronado was up some 50 feet high in the ship’s rigging when he fell and struck his head on the iron-hulled ship before falling into the water. Coast Guard Lt. Bill Fitzgerald of the marine investigation unit said Gushaw’s safety harness wasn’t hooked when the accident occurred about 10:15 a.m. because he was moving from a rope ladder to rigging on the forward mast of the ship. He was standing on the upper topsail yard on the starboard side of the ship just before the accident. Fitzgerald said it is not believed that the fall resulted from any type of equipment failure or foul play. Harbor Police responded to the accident and concluded it was “purely an accidental death,” said Sgt. Dave Fouser. The spot Gushaw fell from was not an area where he would have secured the harness because he was moving from one point to another, Fouser said. Both agencies are waiting for the county medical examiner’s report on whether Gushaw suffered a heart attack or had another medical problem before falling. One witness told police Sunday they thought that may have been the case. Gushaw was training to be recertified to go aloft in anticipation of a sail the ship is scheduled to take in November, said Maritime Museum President and CEO Ray Ashley. Ashley said no accident like this has happened on the ship since it was brought to San Diego in 1927. Coast Guard records show the Maritime Museum has had no recent safety issues. An investigation in 2007 found it lacked a certificate of inspection for the Star of India, but Fitzgerald said that appeared to be an oversight by the museum. Fitzgerald said the investigation into Gushaw’s death would likely take two to three weeks. It’s possible that some action, such as a safety recommendation or request for a policy change, could result but it is too early to tell. The training has been suspended, but the ship remains open to the public. Ashley said Gushaw was a dear friend. A former Naval officer who was retired from SAIC, he was a member of the museum’s board of trustees and served as a tour guide and volunteer for at least ten years.

SAN DIEGO — Homicide detectives are investigating the suspicious death of a person found inside a burning car early Friday in San Pasqual. The body was found by San Diego firefighters around 1:10 a.m. after crews put out a car that was on fire on Highland Valley Road near Old Coach Way. After the fire was extinguished, the body was found inside what appeared to be a dark-colored Hyundai. Investigators said it was not clear if the body was that of a man or a woman. It was found on the driver’s side, said homicide Lt. Ernie Herbert. The car, which was registered to a person living in San Diego County, was not involved in a collision before the fire, Herbert said. “It was definitely not an accident,” he said. “It appears to be on fire for some reason.”

SAN DIEGO — San Diego police are recommending serious charges against a teen driver involved in a high-speed crash in Sabre Springs that killed her 17-year-old best friend, 10News learned.
Police estimated Meagan Ruiz may have been driving in excess of 80 mph when she crossed the center line and slammed head-on into an Enterprise rental truck on May 28.
Five teenagers were in the car, and 17-year-old BreAnna Erickson, sitting in the middle back seat, died at the scene. The other teens suffered injuries and were taken to the hospital.
Erickson recently finished her junior year at Rancho Bernardo High School and hoped to become a pediatrician, friends and family said.
Ruiz and Erickson were best friends, and Erickson’s parents said Ruiz was like another daughter to them and are hoping she will not face prosecution.
“I guess that goes to that judgment thing, and a poor decision was made,” said Mark Woody, Erickson’s stepfather.
San Diego police have recommended charges of gross vehicular manslaughter, reckless driving causing bodily injury and speeding.
Ruiz was driving on a provisional license, meaning no other teens in the car unless accompanied by an adult.
The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office will now weigh the evidence, punishment and deterrence in the case.
“What kind of message does the DA send to the public? Then they have to deal with the appropriate punishment for her, the specific deterrent. What kind of price should she pay? Probably more in what she’s going through than the criminal justice system could do to her,” said trial attorney Guadalupe Valencia.
A felony conviction could bring as much as six years in prison Ruiz, but Valencia said it’s more likely misdemeanor charges would be pursued in the juvenile system, with a more likely term of a year or less at an honor camp.
The decision on prosecution should be made within the next few weeks.

It was truly a rude awakening for a Mira Mesa man early Wednesday after a suspected drunken driver slammed a pickup into his home. Homeowner Rod Anderson said he was sleeping at his house on Arrow Rock Avenue and Gold Coast Drive about 1:45 a.m. when he heard the crash and then heard voices. He called 911 and then walked down the hall where he found a large Mazda truck completely inside his house. The truck had crashed through the front wall and window and then took out another inside wall, leaving the truck half in the living room and half in the kitchen, Anderson said. The passenger had crawled out of the window and over the hood to help the driver get out, Anderson said. The driver had scratches but neither man was hospitalized, Anderson said. Firefighters determined that the house was not safe to enter. Anderson said he is waiting outside for his insurance company and building inspectors to arrive to tell him what to do next. He said his wife was visiting grand children in Lancaster and that she did not know yet what happened. She was not going to be happy when she finds out what happened to her antiques that include Tiffany lamps and other heirlooms that were damaged, Anderson said. The couple have lived in the house since 1974. A driver for UPS, the homeowner said he is on vacation and is set to retire August 1. “I told everyone I was going into a new adventure,” Anderson said. “But this is not quite the adventure I was looking for.” Police did not release any information about the driver.

Kerry Steigerwalt’s Pacific Law Center, the highly visible firm with its ubiquitous television ads, has stopped taking new clients and is “winding down” its business, the firm’s owner said Wednesday. Steigerwalt, a well-known San Diego defense attorney who bought a majority interest in the firm in 2008, said that he broke the news to his staff during a morning meeting at the University City-based firm and advised them to focus on current cases. He said the economic downturn and the company’s business model of “little or no money down” contributed to the firm’s money woes. “Our model is predicated on people making payments,” Steigerwalt said in a telephone interview. “Fewer and fewer people have money to hire us, and those that do are not paying. It just became a managerial nightmare.” Steigerwalt said the firm, which has offices in San Diego, Chula Vista and Escondido, isn’t going out of business. Despite some staff reductions, he said, the lawyers working there are well-equipped to represent existing clients to the fullest. “At this point in time, I want to take no further cases,” he said. “I want to begin winding down this business.” The 17 attorneys listed on the firm’s website represent hundreds of clients in criminal cases, bankruptcies, loan modifications and personal injury lawsuits. The firm has 107 employees after staff cuts in February, The lawyers, including Steigerwalt, are featured in the law center’s frequently running television commercials in which they promote aggressive representation for “little or no money down” and affordable payment plans. Testimonials from clients also are used in the ads. Steigerwalt said he called local television stations Wednesday and told them to stop running the ads. Steigerwalt bought 51 percent of Pacific Law Center in March 2008. Former managing partner, Robert Arentz, had a 49 percent stake. Steigerwalt later became sole owner. Before he bought a stake in Pacific Law Center, the firm had been dogged by complaints from clients and allegations of unethical activity by former lawyers. The problems continued to some degree after Steigerwalt came on board. Clients had filed lawsuits against the firm, as did a former attorney who claimed that the sale to Steigerwalt was a fraud. Steigerwalt said he believes he successfully turned the firm around and that its old reputation was not a factor in the decision to stop taking new clients. Kerry Armstrong, a defense lawyer who worked for Steigerwalt for 11 years but did not work at Pacific Law Center, said Wednesday’s announcement was inevitable. “I knew it was coming; I just didn’t know when,” Armstrong said. Armstrong said the firm was hamstrung by its business model and a poor reputation that changed little despite Steigerwalt’s efforts. “I think Kerry really wanted to change it when he went in,” Armstrong said. “He just didn’t put the right people in place to do it for him.”

ESCONDIDO — A man who was killed in a fire that damaged four Escondido condominiums has been identified as 35-year-old David Ronald Mick. Investigators still have not determined what started the early-morning blaze at the 40-unit complex on East Washington Avenue near North Elm Street, which was reported around 4:40 a.m. Saturday. Investigators said the blaze caused $400,000 in damage to the building and $10,000 to its contents, said Escondido Fire Department Batallion Chief Randy Brookes. Mick was living in a foreclosed condo, possibly with friends, the county Medical Examiner’s Office said.