LAKESIDE (CNS/CBS 8) - A 21-year-old man was killed and two others were injured in a head-on collision in Lakeside, authorities said Sunday.
A Nissan Altima was headed west at 80 to 100 mph on Lake Jennings Park Road east of the intersection with El Monte Road shortly before 10:30 p.m. Saturday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Harold Oliver Wise IV of Lakeside lost control of the Nissan and veered into oncoming lanes, where the sedan collided with a Jeep Wrangler, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office and the CHP. He was wearing a seatbelt, the Medical Examiner's Office reported.
Both vehicles came to a rest in the eastbound lanes, a CHP dispatcher said.
The crash left two people trapped in the heavily damaged vehicles, one of which was in flames, officials with the Lakeside Fire Protection District said. A third person was able to get out without help.
Responding law enforcement officers used fire extinguishers to put out the vehicle fire before fire personnel arrived on scene, fire officials said.
Wise died at the scene, and the Jeep's occupants were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the Medical Examiner's Office said.
"Just very young...too young."
Tyler Degraff was surprised Saturday night after learning the person who died in this fiery crash behind his Lakeside home was someone he knew.
He said, "Shocked, just like shocked again that it happened to him. It was pretty devastating."
Nearby resident, Bill Trotter says debris flew toward his back fence. Minutes later, witnesses rushed to his house for help.
"Screaming for a fire extinguisher and Brendan who lives here threw it to him and...it went from there, those cars were pretty crunched up," he said. "We're gonna really miss him. We really are."
Those who knew Wise, including family friend, Dalonda Mitchell, describe him as a talented actor.
Wise is said to have been a comedian and was voted "Most likely to make you laugh" during his senior year at El Capitan High School.
While officials have not yet determined whether alcohol or drugs played a role in last night's crash, loved ones say they're focusing on who Wise was and what he was destined to become.
"He was gonna make it. I knew he was. But, I guess God had other plans."