ESCONDIDO (CNS) - Two men were fatally injured in a single-vehicle crash on a curving Escondido roadway early Sunday.
The 24-year-old driver of a speeding silver 1999 Toyota Corolla apparently veered off a slight curve on eastbound Bear Valley Parkway approaching Canyon Road shortly after 3 a.m., Escondido police Lt. Justin Murphy said.
The car struck a signal light post and caught fire, according to Murphy.
Police and firefighters arrived to find the car in flames, extinguished the blaze and extricated the 23-year-old passenger, identified by police as Angel Ramirez of Escondido, Murphy said. The car's driver, who has yet to be publicly identified, was found dead.
Ramirez was taken to Palomar Medical Center to be treated for "severe traumatic injuries," Murphy said. He was pronounced dead shortly after 9:30 a.m., according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.
Authorities closed Bear Valley Parkway from Las Palmas to Mary Lane following the crash, but police said lanes had been reopened about 7:30 a.m.
Murphy said investigators believed speed was a factor in the crash, but it was unclear if alcohol was involved as well.
He asked anyone with information on the crash to call police at (760) 839-4424 or (760) 743-8477.