Bonita – An early Friday morning blaze sends 2 people to the hospital for smoke and burn injuries after they were caught inside and as fire engulfed their two-story home. The Bonita blaze was so powerful that firefighters where unable to enter the home. The two occupants where an elderly couple and both where transported to UCSD medical center for treatment. Fire fighters continued to search the home3 after the fire was extinguished at 5 am because they where told that there might be someone else still inside. There where 30 people living on the property and residents told authorities that the home did not have any power. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Firefighters said they will be looking at generators, candles or heaters as possible causes. More than 30 firefighters from Chula Vista, San Diego and Bonita fire departments responded to the blaze.
SAN DIEGO — Two drivers who where suspected of being under the influence were arrested this morning and two hit-and-run drivers are being sought by police officers after causing a multicar pileup on the 805 south near Market Street. Police officers blocked traffic for almost two hours Thursday morning while their investigation was underway.The crash began around 2 a.m. when a man driving a mid sized Saturn lost control and went drove into the highway median, according to police. The man’s vehicle came to a stop blocking the southbound fast lane of the freeway and was rammed from behind by a driver in a small Nissan Sentra who was unable to stop in time. The driver of the Nissan and his passenger were trapped in their car and had to be extracted with the jaws of life. The driver of the Saturn, 34-year-old Francis Rolan Samson Bueno, was later arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. He sustained major head injuries. The driver of the Sentra, Emmanuel Zapien, 23, was also arrested on suspicion of DUI. A third crash occurred when a 33-year-old Man stopped on the opposite shoulder and ran across four lanes to try and divert traffic from the crash. Franklin, who was putting flares on the road, was struck by another vehicle that failed to stop. The man suffered life threatening injuries. The vehicle that hit him is believed to be a 2001 BMW, either a 330i or a 325. The car is white and has damage to its right front right side. Police are actively looking for the driver of this vehicle. A fourth collision occurred in the traffic caused by the earlier wrecks. Another Man, who was driving a Honda Civic, was unable to avoid the stopped traffic in front of him and ran into an unknown vehicle, which drove off without stopping. Diaz suffered major injuries in that crash. In all, five drivers suffered major injuries and were hospitalized. The freeway reopened at 4 a.m.
SAN DIEGO SUPERIOR COURT — The man charged with causing the death of Deputy Ken Collier of the San Diego sheriff’s by driving the wrong way on state Route 52 had traveled from a bar in north Oceanside and was driving impaired for at least an hour, a prosecutor said Wednesday. Deputy District Attorney Damon Mosler said Jose Pedro Lopez Jasso was “remorseless” when he was stopped by police about a mile past where Collier’s car had crashed. Lopez believed he was on Interstate 5, near Carlsbad, the prosecutor said. Lopez, 22, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence causing death and drunken driving. He faces a maximum of 11 years in prison if convicted of all counts. San Diego Court Judge Joseph Brannigan set Lopez’s bail at 3/4 of a million dollars. Mosler said Lopez is a Mexican national who had been deported to Mexico on other occasions. Collier, who was killed when his patrol vehicle slammed into a concrete abutment on an overpass and slid down a ravine Sunday morning. He was traveling on the highway with a passenger, dispatcher Ryan Debellis, who reportedly needed a ride into work because his car was not working.
ESCONDIDO — Debris scattered across the northbound lanes on I-15 close to state Route 78 has caused several wrecks and has severely slowed traffic Monday during the evening commute, according to a CHP spokesperson. A truck lost most of its load around 7 in the evening, causing the multi car pile up, which included several cars and a Semi-truck. The CHP said at least one ambulance has been sent to the site of the crash and at least one person suffered minor injuries. Traffic was stopped for about 30 minutes as officers cleared part of the freeway to allow traffic to start flowing again, the CHP said.
SAN DIEGO — A woman was killed Today on Interstate 5 close to downtown when a taxi clipped the back of her vehicle and causing it to become overturned on the freeway, according to CHP officials. The accident caused a lengthy closure of all traffic on southbound Interstate 5 in the area. Brandon Garland, of the California Highway Patrol Office, said the crash occurred when a taxi driver, who was traveling about 65 mph made a lane change, moving from the No. 2 lane to the No. 4 lane, and clipped the left rear of the Chevy SUV driving ahead of it. The SUV overturned and came to rest in the lanes of southbound Interstate 5 just north of Broadway, Garland said. The driver of the Chevy sustained fatal injuries and died before she could be taken to a hospital. No one else was in the vehicle. Her name was not released. CHP officers diverted traffic from southbound I-5 to state Route 94 as the scene was being cleared and the accident was being investigated. “Whenever something happens here in the s-curve area of downtown it affects everybody,” he said.
El Cajon – Investigators say it is now possible that the floor mats had nothing to do with the car crash that killed the Saylor family. “It could be the floor mats. It could be the pedals. Or it could be the algorithms,” or how the vehicle handles faulty signals from its sensors, Folck said. “It’s just hard to know what it is.” A forensic mechanic who reconstructs accidents and vehicle defects for a living, Folck says the crash could well have been caused by a floor mat — just as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded. The bottom line is investigators still are not sure and Toyota might have jumped the gun with concluding that it was only the floor mats. So far Toyota has recalled 5.4 million vehicles for floor mat problems and 2.3 million vehicles for sticking accelerator pedals. Toyota has maintained that it has not identified any problems with electronics in its vehicles that could trigger the sudden acceleration, and no outside body has proven such a fault exists.
MORENO VALLEY, CALIFORNIA— Two small children, and 2 adults, died when they where sandwiched between two semi-trucks. The vehicles caught fire Sunday afternoon in the city of Ontario, located southern California. CHP reported 4 deaths and 3 minor injuries, and shut down the highway Saturday afternoon while the crash was investigated. The deaths were caused by a chain-reaction of wrecks that cumulated with the 4 deaths. Paramedics pronounced the victims dead at the scene. Ryan Villalpando, 32, wife Veronica Villalpando 29, their son Mateo, 4, and infant Bella Rose died in the crash south of East Jurupa Street in Ontario.
East County- Multiple crashes were reported on east bound I-8 on Sunday night near route 79. At least one of the accidents was a head-on collision, according to California Highway patrol. Eastbound traffic was stopped so a Medi-Vac could land on the freeway to transport out one of the injured. At least three vehicle where reported in the accident and the highway was closed for 2 hours while authorities investigated and crews cleaned up the debris.
San Carlos – A woman pulled her late model Cadillac De ville into her drive way near Wandermere and Golfcrest drives in the early afternoon. The woman then got out of the vehicle to grab something out of the trunk when the car rolled over her breaking her pelvis, according to the police spokesperson. The 40-year-old woman was hospitalized with a broken pelvis and multiple fractures. The police believe a faulty parking break might be the cause.
Vista-Lucas Giaconelli, a 15-year-old, who was skateboarding with friends on Thibodo Road was killed in a hit and run accident Friday evening. The 92 year-old driver came forward to Deputy Ed Macken, while he was conducting traffic control near a memorial for the fatal accident. The elderly man told Macken he didn’t stop following the crash because he thought his vehicle had struck an animal. He said he only realized a person had died there when he saw the roadside candlelight vigil. No arrests have been made, and no charges have been filed. Watch Video
