SAN MARCOS — Sheriff’s detectives are investigating the body of a man found around 2:00 p.m. Wednesday inside a vehicle on South Rancho Santa Fe Road near San Marcos High School, the Sheriff’s Department said.
Late Wednesday, the Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as a 28-year-old man from Nolanville, Texas. His family had filed a missing-persons report. He was found in a Ford Explorer in a parking lot after someone reported a foul odor in the area, investigators said.

SAN DIEGO — Three people suffered injuries in a chain-reaction multicar pileup Wednesday on an Interstate 5 offramp near Balboa Park, the California Highway Patrol said. The incident occurred about 3:15 p.m. The driver of a 2006 silver Volvo S40, a 30-year-old San Diego man, was heading south on I-5 and taking the Pershing Drive offramp when for unknown reasons he lost control of the car, said CHP Officer Art Athans. The car hit a curb, tearing open the oil pan underneath and spreading oil on the road. Seven separate collisions then occurred involving more than a dozen vehicles. Seven tow trucks were called to the scene. The offramp was closed until 5:46 p.m. Interstate 5 lanes were never closed, Athans said. Athans said it was unsure “what role the oil played in the accidents, or if people were driving at a speed that was unsafe for conditions.” The driver of the Volvo was not cited at the scene, he said.

A woman was killed Wednesday morning in a two-vehicle crash in the South County after colliding with a truck being driven by a Border Patrol agent. The accident was reported about 8:10 a.m. on Otay Lakes Road about one mile east of the Lower Otay Reservoir, said California Highway Patrol Officer Art Athans. The woman was traveling east in a 1992 Nissan Maxima on the two-lane road when she drifted onto the right lane during a curve, lost control of the car and drove into oncoming traffic, Athans said. Two on-duty Border Patrol agents were heading west in two marked Ford F-250 patrol vehicles, and the Maxima skidded sideways between the two and was broadsided on its passenger side by the second truck, Athans said. The woman, who was from San Diego and believed to be in her 30s or 40s, died at the scene. The agent was taken to a hospital to be treated for minor injuries, Athans said. Officers are investigating the circumstances of the crash. The road was wet but it was not raining at the time, Athans said. There is no evidence that alcohol was involved. Otay Lakes Road was closed in both directions at Wueste Road to the west and state Route 94 for about 3-1/2 hours. The woman’s name will not be released until her family can be notified.

CHULA VISTA — A 23-year-old man who had just returned from duty in the Middle East was placed into custody Monday on suspicion of stabbing a man he found with his girlfriend at their home and hitting her in the face, according to police. The man was taken into a county jail on suspicion of spousal abuse with injury,and assault with a deadly weapon, Lt. Fritz Reber said. Police are not clear whether he was a member of the military or a military contractor. The man who was stabbed was treated for wounds to his arm and chest that were not life threatening, Reber said. The incident happened about 12:00 p.m. on Prescott Drive near Olympic Driveway. Police said the man who was stabbed ran out of the house and used his cell phone to call for help. Police went to the home but found it empty. They were able to track her car and found the suspect and the woman on E. Flower Street near First Avenue, where he was arrested.

SAN DIEGO — A motorcyclist suffered serious traumas April 24 in Linda Vista which lead to two people being arrested after the head-on collision. The 43-year-old man was riding north on Comstock Street near Comly Street just after 6 p.m. when he was hit by an SUV heading south being driven by a 25-year-old woman, according to San Diego police. The SUV crossed into the northbound lane, ran over the motorcycle rider and proceeded to drag him underneath the vehicle, police said. The driver, who was on her cell phone prior to the crash, was arrested for reckless driving, driving with a suspended license and outstanding warrants, police said. A 30-year-old passenger who tried to run away after the collision was arrested for possession of a methamphetamine pipe, police said. The victim was taken to a hospital where he was being treated for serious leg injuries. Alcohol was not a factor in the collision but drugs possibly were, police said.

CORONADO — A multi-vehicle pile-up with one fatality and other injuries Wednesday afternoon shut down traffic on part of the Silver Strand in Coronado for about two hours. The Strand was closed in both directions between Leyte Road and the Coronado Cays housing development about 2:10 p.m. and was reopened about 4:45 p.m. A man was killed in the pile-up and three others were taken to hospitals, said Coronado police spokeswoman Lea Corbin. The accident occurred in the 5500 block of Silver Strand just before Cays Boulevard, she said. No other information was available. The closure affected motorists going to the Naval Amphibious Base and to Silver Strand military housing and Silver Strand Elementary School. People trying to get to Silver Strand housing and to the elementary school had to use Interstate 5 and take the San Diego-Coronado bridge.

SAN DIEGO — A 71-year-old woman was seriously hurt in City Heights yesterday afternoon after being run over by a pickup truck. The woman was walking to her apartment building on the corner of 44th and Maple streets around 3 p.m. when she was hit by a Toyota Tundra that was backing up, according to San Diego police. The victim of the crash was taken to a hospital where she was being treated for a collapsed lung, police said. Authorities released No further details of the accident. Officers with the San Diego Police traffic division are investigating.

NORTH COUNTY — Three people died in two separate early morning crashes Sunday, according to authorities. The first occurred about 4:00 a.m. along north I-5 and killed a 29-year-old Escondido man, according to California Highway Patrol. Officials identified him as Alfredo Sanchez and they said he was a pedestrian on I-5 north of Harbor Drive when he was hit by a vehicle. He died at the scene of the crash. Authorities could not explain why Sanchez was on the freeway in the first place. About 15 minutes after in Valley Center, a 32-year-old woman from Oceanside and another person were killed in a crash on Old Castle Road when her car drifted into the eastbound lane and collided head-on with another vehicle, according to authorities. The woman was later identified as Michelle Santos. The identity of the driver of the other vehicle has not been released. Both drivers died before officials reached the site of the wreck near Champagne Boulevard at about 4:30 a.m. Santos was wearing her seat belt. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the circumstances leading up to both crashes.

POINT LOMA — An 87-year-old man died of injuries suffered in an car wreck Sunday according to the Medical Examiner’s office. Rolando Arnold, a resident of San Diego, was driving his vehicle which was involved in a wreck at the intersection of Centraloma Drive and Nimitz Boulevard at about 8:00 a.m. He was taken to UCSD Medical Center, where he later died after about five hours, the Medical Examiner’s Office said. Information about the circumstances leading up to the crash was not available Sunday night.

ENCINITAS — A unidentified woman was run-over by a Coaster train and killed early this morning, according to authorities. The terrible incident was reported around 8:00 a.m. on the intersection of South Vulcan Avenue near F Street in a non-grade-crossing area. The incident prompted transportation officials to shut down a part of the tracks for about an hour and a half, prompting the cancellation of one Coaster train and the delay of many others, according to a North County Transit District spokesperson. Noon train service should resume as usual, they said. The spokesperson said the collision did not occur at a pedestrian crossing and the woman was trespassing when she walked onto the tracks. No further information about the victim was immediately released by authorities and the investigation is still under way.