SAN DIEGO : 3 Die When Pickup Overturns Off I-5
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Three San Marcos men were killed Sunday morning when a pickup left the highway, overturned after hitting a tree and burst into flames, said the California Highway Patrol.
The driver, Jose Vega Jr., 19, was the only one of the three men wearing a seat belt when the truck crashed as he drove southbound on Interstate 5, about one-half mile south of Clairemont Avenue at 5:50 a.m. Officials do not know why Vega’s pickup left the highway.
Vega apparently hit his brakes once on the highway shoulder, and then entered an ivy and ice plant-covered area. The truck skidded in the foliage for 156 feet and slammed head-on into a large eucalyptus tree. The truck then climbed the perimeter fence and overturned, its engine bursting into flames.
The two passengers, Jose De La Luz Vega Torres, 22, and an unidentified young man, were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. All three men suffered burn wounds and crushing injuries that led officials to believe that they died before the vehicle burst into flames.
“We are not real certain why the vehicle left the roadway,” said Sgt. Doc Mehrtens. “It left at normal speed.”
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