AUGUST 29, 2009 – Four people were killed Friday evening in a crash in Santee, the California Highway Patrol has reported. The crash occurred on State Route 125 near Mission Gorge Road, north of La Mesa. According to the CHP, a person called 911 at 6:36 p.m. and reported having a stuck accelerator and was unable to stop at an approaching intersection near Mission Gorge Road. The car was estimated to be travelling at more than 100 mph when the crash occurred. The vehicle caught fire and all four occupants died at the scene. The cause of the fatal Santee crash is under investigation.
AUGUST 28, 2009 – A man was killed early Thursday morning in San Marcos, San Diego County Sheriff’s officials have reported. The San Marcos pedestrian accident occurred just before 5:30 a.m. in the 1400 block of Grand Avenue. The victim, who was struck by a 2000 Toyota Tacoma, was identified as Miguel Becerra Mendoza, 46, of Vista. He was reportedly struck while crossing the street. Mendoza was taken to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido where he was pronounced dead. Authorities are investigating the cause of the fatal pedestrian accident.
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AUGUST 23, 2009 – The California Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of a fatal head-on collision Saturday on Del Dios Highway in Escondido. The crash involved a Dodge pickup truck and a loaded cement truck that weighed 25 tons. According to reports, Jose A. Acosta-Alvarez, 32, of San Diego was driving his pickup truck east on Del Dios Highway when, for unknown reasons, at about 11:49 a.m., he crossed into westbound lanes and collided with a cement truck. The head-on crash occurred near Lake Hodges dam, and Del Dios Hwy was closed for several hours from Calle Ambiente to Rancho Drive following the collision. According to authorities, the two vehicles crashed “headlight-to-headlight.” Both vehicles were estimated to be traveling between 40 and 45 mph. Anyone with information about the fatal collision is asked to call the Oceanside CHP office.
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AUGUST 22, 2009 – A 27-year-old man was killed early Saturday in a solo-vehicle SUV rollover accident in Chula Vista, authorities reported. The San Diego County crash occurred on H Street, near Fourth Avenue at 4:15 a.m. The driver, whose name was not released, was ejected from his Chevrolet Tahoe and died at the scene of the crash. Further details were not immediately available. Police are investigating the cause of the Chula Vista auto accident.
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AUGUST 22, 2009 – A 22-year-old Spring Valley man died early Saturday morning in a solo-vehicle motorcycle accident on the Clairemont Drive / Mission Bay Drive off-ramp of northbound Interstate 5, authorities have reported. The crash occurred at around 1:20 a.m. According to reports, Richard Dennis Fox was riding a yellow Yamaha R6 motorcycle when he lost control of his motorcycle and struck a guardrail. He was ejected from the bike and died at the scene of the crash. The cause of the fatal San Diego motorcycle accident is under investigation.
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AUGUST 18, 2009 - The San Diego County Medical Examiner has identified a 34-year-old Santee man as the passenger killed by a suspected drunken driver in Lakeside, authorities said. Patrick Michael Elerding was riding in a 1990 Volvo 240DL that was traveling west on El Monte Road about 1 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. The driver of the car, identified as 37-year-old Nico Faulk of San Diego, lost control of the vehicle just east of Lake Jennings Park Road, crossed over the double-yellow lines and collided head-on with a large oak tree, authorities said. An off-duty San Diego police officer came across the wreckage and called emergency personnel. Elerding was declared dead at the scene, according to the medical examiner. Faulk complained of back pain and was transported to Sharp Memorial Hospital for evaluation. He’s expected to be booked on charges of vehicular manslaughter and felony driving under the influence upon his release, authorities said. The CHP is continuing to investigate the fatal car accident.
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AUGUST 18, 2009 - A woman was seriously injured when she was struck by a suspected drunken driver while walking through the parking lot of a local market, authorities said. The collision occurred about 4:30 p.m. as the woman walked with her husband to their car in the parking lot of San Marcos Market on West Mission Road near Pico Avenue, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. The driver of a Saturn SL was apparently backing up when he struck the woman and dragged her under the car for about 40 feet, officials said. The victim suffered serious internal injuries, as well as injuries to her right arm, back and ribs. The driver fled west on West Mission Road where he was spotted by a Palomar College police officer, officials said. The driver, identified as 27-year-old Leopoldo Morales of San Marcos, was pursued for a short distance before he crashed head-on into a parked car on Descanso Avenue. He fled on foot, but witnesses pointed him out to police and he was arrested on Linda Vista Drive, authorities said. Morales was booked at Vista Jail on suspicion of driving under the influence and causing serious bodily injury, hit-and-run and evading arrest, authorities said. He was held on an immigration hold. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is continuing to investigate the pedestrian accident.
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AUGUST 18, 2009 - A 27-year-old man died when his motorcycle slid into opposite lanes near Escondido and he was run over, authorities said. The unidentified motorcyclist, an active-duty sailor, was riding a 2007 Suzuki GSXR north on Harmony Grove Road near Via Ambiente when the accident occurred about 5 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. Witnesses told investigators the victim was riding the sport bike at about 30-35 mph when he failed to negotiate a slight curve and slid into oncoming traffic. He was run over by a 2007 Toyota Corolla driven by a 22-year-old Escondido woman, who told officers she tried to steer to the right but was unable to avoid the collision, authorities said. Despite efforts by emergency personnel to revive the motorcyclist, he died at the scene, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner. Speed, alcohol or drugs are not considered a factor in the motorcycle crash. As part of its investigation, the CHP will try to determine why the motorcyclist lost control.
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AUGUST 17, 2009 - A young skateboarder was hospitalized after he was struck by a sports-utility vehicle at a San Diego County intersection, authorities said. Witnesses told investigators the skateboarder was riding east on Encinitas Boulevard about 11 p.m. when he reached the intersection with six-lane El Camino Real, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. He entered the intersection at the end of a green light for eastbound traffic, but it turned red before he could get through the northbound lanes of El Camino Real. A truck in northbound lanes waited for the victim to cross, but an SUV in an adjacent lane did not see the youth and he was struck with the left-front fender, authorities said. The impact hurled the boy into the intersection. He was transported to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla for treatment of unspecified injuries. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the pedestrian accident.
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AUGUST 17, 2009 - A 65-year-old man died when his motorcycle collided with a vehicle that was stalled in lanes of Interstate 15, authorities said. Laurence Irving Fullerton III of Poway was driving a Honda CBR north on I-15 just north of Via Rancho Parkway when he collided with the back of a stalled Volkswagen Jetta about 9:15 a.m., according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner. Fullerton was transported to Palomar Medical Center where he died at 11:23 a.m., officials said. The CHP is investigating the fatal I-15 motorcycle crash.
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