JULIAN, CA — A child was killed and seven others were injured over Thanksgiving weekend in a fiery head-on crash in the far eastern reaches of San Diego County, authorities said Monday.
The fatal collision happened shortly after 3 p.m. Sunday on San Felipe Road, south of Montezuma Valley Road and northeast of Julian, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A Toyota Tacoma was headed northbound on San Felipe Road behind a Ford F-350 that was towing a trailer. The Toyota truck, which was being driven by a 25-year-old man and had a 24-year-old male passenger, entered the southbound lanes and crashed head-on into a Toyota Camry, the CHP said. The Toyota truck then crashed into the right side of the Ford truck, overturned and caught on fire.
“The driver of the Toyota Tacoma could not regain control and crashed into the right side of the Ford,” CHP officials said in a news release. “The impact of the crash caused the Toyota Tacoma to overturn onto the roadway, and the Toyota Tacoma subsequently caught fire.”
The two men in the Toyota truck were taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital with major injuries, according to the CHP.
Five people in the Toyota sedan were taken to hospitals with major injuries. The 26-year-old male driver and 28-year-old female passenger were taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital. Three children, ages 8, 5 and 4, were taken to Rady Children’s Hospital. The 8-year-old girl died at the hospital, the CHP said.
The Ford truck had six people inside, including the 40-year-old male driver, 40-year-old female passenger, and four children, ages 16, 14, 13 and 6. Only the 13-year-old female passenger sustained minor injuries in the crash, the CHP said.
The collision remained under investigation. The CHP said that alcohol is suspected to be a factor in the crash.