Car Crash Kills Teen, Critically Injures Another
October 5, 2009
Ranch Santa Fe - A 17-year-old San Diego male teenager died while another one sustained critical injuries when the car they were riding in overturned after veering off a winding road.
According to California Highway Patrol (CHP), a 2008 Mazda 3 was speeding along the northbound lane on La Granada when the accident happened. The driver unsuccessfully negotiated a curve and the vehicle drifted to the opposite lane, left the road, and smashed through trees, bushes, and wooden split rail fence before it veered back onto the northbound lane and flipped over.
According to Sgt. Lew Hall of the CHP, the 17-year-old San Diego driver was brought to Juvenile Hall on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter and felony driving under the influence (DUI).
Hall said the driver was not injured in the accident while two other 17-year-old teens, one from Carlsbad and the other from Del Mar, only suffered minor injuries.
A fifth car passenger from San Diego, sustained blunt head trauma and was under critical condition in a hospital. Hall said both the fatally and critically injured teens were not wearing their seat belts when the accident happened.
The remaining three passengers were wearing their seatbelts.
The Medical Examiner’s Office withheld the name of the fatally-wounded teen because his family has not yet been notified.