(File photo by Alexander Nguyen/Times of San Diego)
A fiery crash on a rural road in the far eastern reaches of the San Diego area left a child dead and six other people seriously injured over the Thanksgiving weekend.
The fatal head-on collision took place at about 3 p.m. Sunday, when the driver of a northbound 2005 Toyota Tacoma pickup crossed over a set of double yellow lines and crashed into a southbound 2018 Toyota Camry in the 25000 block of San Felipe Rd. in the San Felipe Valley, northeast of Julian, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The Tacoma then struck a northbound 1997 Ford F-350 truck with an attached utility trailer before overturning onto the roadway and catching fire, the CHP said.
Left severely injured in the wreck were the 25-year-old Oceanside man who had been driving the Tacoma; a passenger in that vehicle, a 24-year-old San Marcos man; the 26-year-old Arizona man behind the wheel of the Camry; and four passengers in the sedan — a 28-year-old woman, boys ages 4 and 5, and an 8- year-old girl.
Paramedics took the children to Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, where the girl was pronounced dead. Her name was withheld pending completion of family notification. Ambulance crews took the four adults to Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego.
One of five passengers in the Ford, a 13-year-old girl, suffered minor injuries in the crash, according to the Highway Patrol.
It was not immediately clear why the Tacoma veered into the path of the oncoming car, but “alcohol is suspected to be a factor in the crash,” officials said Monday.
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