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.

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.

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.

SAN DIEGO — A 3-year-old boy was struck by a car and killed Friday in Encanto, police said. The toddler was being watched by his 12-year-old brother when the crash occurred on Madrone Avenue near Woodman Street shortly before noon, San Diego police said. The older boy told his little brother to stay on the sidewalk while he crossed the street to get a dog, but the toddler apparently didn’t listen and went into the road, police said. The boy was struck by a green Toyota Corolla and killed. His name has not been released. The car’s 19-year-old driver reportedly left the scene momentarily but came back, said San Diego police Sgt. Ray Battrick. The crash remains under investigation.

SAN MARCOS — While the Sheriff’s Department investigates what caused a Fourth of July fireworks display in San Marcos to go awry, witnesses to the accident are questioning how close is too close when it comes to watching pyrotechnics. Investigators said the firework apparently malfunctioned, shooting sideways and ricocheting off a caretaker’s home in Bradley Park before blasting into a group of nearby spectators Sunday night. The 9:20 p.m. incident occurred before the grand finale could be fired off and abruptly put an end to the show. An estimated 4,000 people were in attendance, with another 7,000 to 8,000 viewing the fireworks in the general vicinity, city spokeswoman Jenny Peterson said Tuesday. San Elijo resident Joe Silva was lying in a nearby baseball field with his wife and children. The technicians doing the show seemed to be having trouble from the beginning, with awkward stops and starts, Silva said. Then he saw the flash about three feet off the ground. “People started screaming,” he said. “I saw a lady holding a kid saying, ‘Help us! Help us!’” When the firework hit the building, it split into two pieces, said witness Jared Wyrick, who was at the home’s fence line with his 13-year-old son, Kane. One piece of explosive then hit the ground and struck a man sitting in a red chair. He jumped up and was screaming in pain as flames licked at his back. People pounded on him to put out the fire. The second piece hit a man in a lounge chair. “It was a large fireball. It was very frightening,” said Wyrick, who lives in Carlsbad. One person was taken to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido with minor burns and was later released. Three others were treated at the scene. Investigators with the sheriff’s bomb/arson unit were finishing interviews Tuesday with witnesses and examining photographs taken during the accident, Sgt. Everard Dayrit said. The findings will be turned over to the Office of the State Fire Marshal, which regulates fireworks shows. Pyro Spectaculars by Souza, the Rialto-based company that put on the show, didn’t return phone calls Tuesday. The $20,000 show, funded through community donations, has been held for the past 25 years without incident, city officials said. Mayor Jim Desmond, who witnessed the explosion in the park, said it’s too early to tell how the incident will affect future shows. “It’s an unfortunate accident that’s still being investigated,” Desmond said. “We’ll have to see if any lessons can be learned and make sure we’re as safe as we possibly can be. There’s been no decision made to cancel them.” For the Silva family, Sunday’s incident was a wake-up call. “It could have hit us just as easily,” Joe Silva said. “We’re going to rethink it next year. For sure, we won’t be that close.”

A 48-year-old Temecula resident was killed Sunday when he lost control of the motorcycle he was riding and slid into a truck on Lilac Road in Valley Center, the Medical Examiner’s office reported. Bradley Robert Eckhardt was riding a 1969 Yamaha R350 southbound on Lilac, just south of West Lilac Road, at about 10:30 a.m. when he collided with a Dodge Ram 250 towing a loaded horse trailer. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The Medical Examiner’s office said it is not known why he lost control of the motorcycle. An autopsy is pending.