SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — One person was killed and another seriously hurt in a two-vehicle crash on State Route 54 in the unincorporated Bonita area near Chula Vista, the second deadly crash on that stretch of freeway in less than two hours, authorities said Wednesday.
The crash happened on westbound SR-54 west of Briarwood Road shortly before 10:40 p.m. Tuesday, California Highway Patrol Officer Salvador Castro said.
A motorist behind the wheel of a silver Honda SUV was heading west on SR-54 when the driver approached a Chevrolet pickup that was stopped in one of the lanes due to traffic from a deadly single-vehicle crash that happened around 9:25 p.m. Tuesday on the Reo Drive off-ramp where a man was killed and three women were injured, Castro said.
The Honda collided with the rear of the Chevrolet, causing major damage to the pickup, the officer said.
A passenger in the Honda was pronounced dead at the scene and a woman driving the Chevrolet was taken to a hospital for treatment of major injuries. No further details about the victims were immediately available.
The Honda driver ran away from the crash and remained at large as of 6 a.m. Wednesday, Castro said. No detailed suspect description was immediately available.
In the earlier single-vehicle crash, a motorist behind the wheel of a Toyota pickup was heading west when, for unknown reasons, the pickup overturned on the off-ramp, ejecting all four occupants, Castro said.
One of the occupants, a man whose age was not immediately available, was then struck by a vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene, the officer said. The man's name was withheld pending family notification.
No details about the driver of the other vehicle were immediately available.
The three other occupants, all women whose ages were not immediately available, were taken to a local hospital for treatment of unknown injuries, Castro said.
Anyone with information about the crash or the whereabouts of the Honda driver was urged to call the CHP's San Diego office at 858-293-6000.
