Crash on SR 67 Kills Four, Injures Three

Updated at 1:10 p.m.

A head-on collision on a drizzle-dampened stretch of state Route 67 near Poway killed four people today and injured three others, including a 5-year-old girl, authorities reported.

The accident occurred about 10 a.m., when a northbound Chevrolet Silverado truck veered into an oncoming lane at high speed and smashed into two southbound Toyota sedans near Rockhouse Road in the unincorporated Rosemont area, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The wreck fatally injured two men in the pickup and a married couple in one of the cars, CHP public-affairs Officer Brian Pennings said. All four died at the scene. Their names were withheld pending family notification.

A mother and her preschooler daughter in the other sedan survived the crash, as did a woman who had been riding in a back seat in the extended-cab truck, Pennings said. Medics took them to hospitals for treatment of injuries that were not considered life threatening.

The accident forced a several-hour full closure of the route between Poway and Archie Moore roads. In the early afternoon, authorities were allowing traffic through the area over one lane.

It was unclear why the driver of the pickup lost control, though witnesses said he was speeding, according to Pennings. Additionally, the roadway was moist at the time due to misty weather, the spokesman said.

-City News Service