DECEMBER 30, 2008 – The San Diego Medical Examiner’s Office has reported a man trimming a tree with a chain saw died at his residence in El Cajon on Monday afternoon. Herbert Ranney Webster, 64, of El Cajon, was using a chain saw to cut branches off a tree when moments later he was found unresponsive under the tree. Paramedics attempted to revive Webster, but he was pronounced dead at the scene before he could be taken to a hospital. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is investigating. The death is believed to be an accident.
DECEMBER 29, 2008 – A woman was killed and four people were injured in a crash on Route 67 in Poway on Sunday afternoon, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department has reported. The accident happened near Mt. Woodson at about 2:40 p.m. Melissa Jean Day, 35, of Ramona, was killed in the crash. Day was driving a 1994 Ford Ranger pickup, which collided with a 2002 Ford Ranger pickup. The 2002 pickup was driven by a 17-year-old Ramona boy, who apparently veered across the center lanes into oncoming traffic, striking Day’s truck. Melissa Day was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Her two daughters were in the truck with her and sustained serious injuries in the crash. They were airlifted to Children’s Hospital. The 17-year-old and his 15-year-old female passenger were taken by ambulance to Palomar Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. Route 67 was closed from Poway Road to Archie Moore Road while authorities investigated the cause of the Poway crash.
DECEMBER 29, 2008 – Michael Maala Serrano, 28, of Escondido, was killed early Sunday morning in a single-vehicle rollover crash on La Jolla Parkway. Serrano was a passenger in a Lexus LS-300, which struck a guardrail and rolled over in Rose Canyon near the I-5 and SR-52 interchange. The accident occurred just after 2:05 a.m. The driver of the car was apparently speeding and lost control of the vehicle. Serrano was ejected from the car and pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. The driver and another male passenger were taken to an emergency room, according to San Diego police. The La Jolla Parkway auto accident remains under investigation.
DECEMBER 29, 2008 — The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the death of James Newton Robert Zerfas, 62 of Cardiff-By-The-Sea. Zerfas was killed after he was struck by a vehicle while walking on Coast Highway 101, south of Chesterfield Drive, at about 11:10 p.m. Saturday night. The female driver driving northbound on 101 told accident investigators that she did not see Zerfas before she struck him. She tested negative for a breath alcohol test. Zerfas was pronounced dead at the scene of the pedestrian accident.
DECEMBER 27, 2008 – The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified a man struck and killed by a motorcycle on Wednesday evening as Leonardo Ramirez Palado, 79, of San Diego. The pedestrian accident happened around 5 p.m. Palado was crossing Miramar Road near Clayton Drive when he was hit by a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He was pronounced dead at the scene The driver of the motorcycle, whose identity has not been released, was thrown from his bike and was seriously injured. San Diego Police are investigating the Miramar accident.
DECEMBER 24, 2008 – San Diego Police reported a 35-year-old man suffered serious injuries in a rollover crash on Torrey Pines Road early this morning. The man, whose identity has not been released, was driving north on Torrey Pines Road, south of La Jolla Village Road, when he lost control of his car, and hit the center divider. He suffered head injuries and also injured his pelvis. The accident happened shortly before 12:30 a.m. Police believe alcohol may have been a factor in the crash.
DECEMBER 24, 2008 – Santiago Piovillasenor Aganzam 23, of Carlsbad, was struck and killed by a southbound Sprinter train around 5:08 p.m. Tuesday, San Diego County sheriff’s deputies reported. Aganzam, who was riding a bicycle, was crossing the train tracks at Wisconsin Avenue, west of South Coast Highway, when he was struck. The cyclist was pronounced dead at the scene of the bicycle accident. Investigators said the guard arms, warning lights and bells were operating properly, and believe Aganzam may have been wearing headphones.
DECEMBER 22, 2008 – The California Highway Patrol reported a 32-year-old man from Escondido was killed in a motorcycle accident Sunday on Highway 76. The accident happened near Cole Grade Road on the La Jolla Indian Reservation. CHP reported the man apparently was unable to negotiate a curve and crashed into a guardrail on his Suzuki motorcycle. The victim, whose identity has not been released, was pronounced dead at the scene of the Highway 76 crash. The CHP is investigating the motorcycle accident.
DECEMBER 22, 2008 – A 55-year-old man hanging Christmas lights fell off a roof from a single-story home in San Marcos on Sunday afternoon, authorities reported. Firefighters and sheriff’s deputies responded to the accident, which happened at about 2:45 p.m. on Highland Heights Lane on Sunday afternoon. Authorities reported the man appeared to have fallen directly on his head. He was taken to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido.
DECEMBER 22, 2008 – A 56-year-old woman suffered serious head injuries after she was struck by a car late Monday morning in the Core-Columbia district of downtown San Diego. The woman, whose identity was not released, was walking across Fourth Avenue at B Street when a car making a left turn into the intersection hit her. She was taken to UCSD Medical Center. Police are investigating the cause of the pedestrian accident.
