EAST COUNTY — A 90-year-old Lakeside man was killed Tuesday night in a head-on crash on the Barona Ranch Indian Reservation, the California Highway Patrol said. The accident was reported at 7 p.m. on Wildcat Canyon Road at Old Barona Road. Authorities said the man was driving a Ford Crown Victoria south on Wildcat Canyon Road when he crossed into oncoming traffic for an unknown reason. His car struck a Land Rover head-on. The Land Rover’s two occupants were wearing seat belts and suffered minor injuries, said the California Highway Patrol. They were treated at a hospital. The Ford’s driver, who was not belted in, died. His name was not released. There was no evidence that drugs or alcohol were a factor, the CHP said.
BONSALL — A 12-year-old Riverside County girl was killed Saturday night in a head-on collision in Bonsall, authorities said Sunday. The girl lived with her mother in Hemet, according to the county Medical Examiner’s Office. Her name was not released pending notification of her relatives. The crash happened shortly after 9 p.m. Saturday on eastbound state Route 76, east of East Vista Way. For unknown reasons, the driver of a 1956 Volkswagen Beetle lost control of the vehiicle while going west on the highway and veered into oncoming traffic, hitting a Buick Regal sedan. The driver of the Volkswagen and the girl, who was in the front passenger seat but not wearing a seat belt, were ejected. The girl died about 20 minutes later. Three people, including the drivers of both vehicles, were taken to hospitals for treatment.
NORTH COUNTY — A two-vehicle crash killed one person and injured three others on the Bonsall Bridge over the San Luis Rey River Saturday night, the California Highway Patrol said. The crash occurred on the bridge between Vista and Bonsall about 9:10 p.m. Witnesses reported two people were ejected into the middle of the road, and one, a woman, was not moving. One person was declared dead about 20 minutes later. The CHP shut down state Route 76, also known as Mission Avenue, south of Old River Road and north of Vista Way. A North Comm fire dispatcher said a medical helicopter was sent to the scene.
SAN DIEGO — A pedestrian died Sunday night after being hit by an SUV in the Midway District. The man was crossing Rosecrans Street at Kurtz Street against the light about 8:45 p.m. when he was hit by a Jeep heading south, San Diego police said. The victim was taken to UCSD Medical Center where he died just after 10 p.m. in the operating room, officials with the Medical Examiner’s Office said. The man, who has not been identified, appeared to be between 35 and 45 years old. The driver of the Jeep stopped and was not cited, police said.
EAST COUNTY — Six teens were injured when their vehicle rolled several times near Mountain Empire High School in Pine Valley Wednesday. The crash was reported about 2:30 p.m. on Buckman Springs Road near Oak Drive, according to the California Highway Patrol. An air ambulance was headed to the scene to evacuate one patient. Details on the extent of injuries were not immediately available. All victims are students at the school.
RAMONA — A bicyclist hit and killed by a suspected drunken driver was identified Monday as 54-year-old David Bruce Menea, officials with the Medical Examiner’s Office said. Menea was trying to cross Main Street at South Kalbaugh Street about 8:50 p.m. when he was struck by a Toyota 4Runner traveling south, said California Highway Patrol Officer Brian Pennings. He and his bicycle were thrown to the road and he landed on the right shoulder. Menea was pronounced dead at the scene. The SUV that hit him then struck a parked car which sent it crashing into Mike’s liquor store. Two people in the car suffered minor injuries and a man inside the store was cut by flying debris, Pennings said. The driver of the SUV, identified as 23-year-old Suzanne Reed of El Cajon, was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving.
SAN MATEO, Calif. — Authorities say a car crash victim and a Good Samaritan who stopped to help her died when struck by several cars on a Northern California freeway. The San Mateo County coroner’s office says 39-year-old Stacy White and 26-year-old Steven Pereira were killed around 3 a.m. Sunday. The California Highway Patrol says White was apparently under the influence of alcohol while was driving north in the southbound lane of Highway 101. The CHP says White stopped her car and got out, and Pereira stopped to help. A limousine struck them, knocking them into the northbound lanes where they were hit by multiple vehicles, including a state patrol cruiser. The incident caused a 15-hour backup on the freeway, which finally reopened Sunday evening.
MISSION VIEJO — A Del Mar teenager has been identified as one of two people struck and killed by a Metrolink commuter train in Orange County on Thursday, authorities said. Officials said Anastasia Bolton, 17, of Del Mar, and Daniel Akins, 22, of Mission Viejo, may have been sleeping on the tracks under the Alicia Parkway overcrossing in Mission Viejo when Metrolink train 603 heading from Oceanside to Los Angeles struck the pair shortly after 6 a.m. A woman who was injured may have been sleeping on rocks near the track, said county sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino. She suffered moderate injuries that were not life-threatening, and called 911 to report that she and her companions had been struck by a northbound train, Amormino said. “She said she heard the train coming and jumped out of the way and it nicked her arm and leg,” Amormino said. “It’s possible they were sleeping on the tracks but there was no evidence they were drinking at the scene.” It was not immediately clear why the three were on the tracks. “They definitely were not homeless,” Amormino said. The women, who had met on Facebook, spent Wednesday evening at nearby Laguna Beach and were planning to go to a friend’s house in Mission Viejo when they were hit by the train, Amormino said. Authorities also searched a car in a nearby parking lot. Amormino said the victims had parked there and walked to the tracks. Metrolink spokeswoman Angie Starr said the train’s crew and 67 passengers were not hurt. The train was going about 90 mph and was being pushed by its locomotive, a tactic called “cab forward” that the agency uses to avoid having to turn the trains around when switching directions. The engineers sits in the cab and has all the normal controls and a horn, she said. “The horn had nothing to do with this incident,” she said. “People were on the tracks, the train wouldn’t be able to slow down fast enough.” Accident investigators will study the train’s events recorder and footage from a camera on the train, Starr added. Starr said the passengers on the train were put on another train and continued their journey. However, tracks in the area were closed for the investigation, delaying other trains. Buses were taking other passengers between Laguna Niguel and Irvine stations. In addition, Amtrak said its Pacific Surfliner service between Irvine and San Diego was temporarily suspended and three trains were canceled while other routes were truncated. Hours after the accident, investigators scoured the section of track in a concrete-lined cutting that runs under the Alicia Parkway overcrossing. Yellow plastic sheets covered parts of the rail line, and portions of the victims were carried more than 500 feet along the tracks, Amormino said. A pair of aqua sneakers and some clothing also lay on the tracks. Starr said Metrolink has had problems systemwide with people going onto tracks, including in the area some 50 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. “There’s been quite a bit of trespassing in this whole region. We have been looking at all our highly dangerous crossings,” she said. Keith Ball, 46, who lives nearby, said his family was bothered by teenagers who gathered in a small park next to the tracks to party. Ball said his barking dog awakened him at about 3 a.m. Thursday and he heard laughter and loud talking from the park. “It’s been going on all summer,” Ball said. “It’s a problem. They really need to come down here and patrol this area more.”
SAN DIEGO — A man who witnesses said was dancing on state Route 163 early Thursday was killed when he was struck by an SUV. The man was on the southbound lanes of the highway at Friars Road just before 1 a.m. when he was hit, the California Highway Patrol said. The driver of the SUV stopped, the CHP said. Several lanes of the freeway were closed until about 2:15 a.m. as authorities investigated. The man’s identity has not been released.
