3 Killed In Crash On SR-78 In Oceanside

OCEANSIDE, CA — Three people were killed Thursday afternoon when an SUV crashed off state Route 78 near El Camino Country Club, struck a fence and a signal pole and caught fire, authorities reported.

The westbound Mitsubishi Outlander veered off the north edge freeway for unknown reasons and went down an embankment just east of El Camino Real in Oceanside shortly after 2 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

The occupants of the SUV, two men and a woman, wound up trapped in the burning wreckage and died at the scene of the accident, CHP Oceanside public-affairs Officer Mark Latulippe said. Their identities were not immediately available.

Authorities closed one lane of nearby Vista Glen Drive to provide access for emergency vehicles, the spokesman said.

— City News Service