An afternoon drive on a rural mountain road outside Julian turned deadly when a head-on collision on San Felipe Road north of Highway 78 killed a juvenile and left seven other people hospitalized, authorities said. The multi-vehicle crash, reported around 3 PM yesterday, a few miles northeast of Julian, drew a massive emergency response to the remote two-lane stretch.
Emergency response and casualties
Cal Fire crews arrived to find multiple vehicles involved and at least one of them on fire. Eight people were taken from the scene to hospitals, and four of those patients had to be flown out by helicopter. Firefighters had to extricate at least one person from a burning vehicle, and one patient required CPR while others suffered major injuries, according to ABC 10News. Multiple engines and medical units responded, and an injured firefighter was treated and released at the scene.
What officials said
The California Highway Patrol described the wreck as a head-on collision and told FOX 5 San Diego that a juvenile later died while being treated at a hospital. Authorities have not released the names of any of the victims, have not identified the vehicles involved, and say the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Where it happened
The crash occurred shortly after 3 PM on San Felipe Road north of Highway 78 near Scissors Crossing, several miles northeast of Julian. Emergency crews shut down both lanes while they worked the scene and dealt with the vehicle fire, per ABC 10News. At least one vehicle was reported to be fully involved in flames when firefighters arrived.
Investigation underway
CHP officers and local fire agencies are now piecing together the sequence of events that led up to the crash. Investigators have not said whether speed, impairment, or any other factor might have contributed. FOX 5 San Diego reported that crews remained on scene for hours and that CHP is expected to release additional details as the investigation continues.
