1 Killed, 1 Injured In Fiery Crash On I-15 In Scripps Ranch Area

SAN DIEGO — A 34-year-old sedan driver was killed and his 24-year-old passenger suffered serious injuries Tuesday morning when the car slammed into the back of a semi truck and caught fire on Interstate 15 in the Scripps Ranch area.

The crash involving a 2006 Pontiac G5 sedan and a 2009 Kenwood big rig occurred around 3:05 a.m. on northbound I-15 south of Miramar Way, California Highway Patrol Officer Jake Sanchez said.

The Pontiac rear-ended the semi truck for unknown reasons in a middle lane on the highway and the sedan ended up engulfed in flames in the center divide, he said.

A passenger was able to get out of the car, but the 34-year-old driver was trapped inside and pronounced dead at the scene, the officer said. The man, whose name was withheld pending family notification, was from Hartford, Connecticut.

The passenger, a 24-year-old Escondido woman, was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital for treatment of major injuries, Sanchez said.

A 46-year-old San Diego man behind the wheel of the semi truck was uninjured and remained at the scene, he said.

Firefighters knocked down the flames within 15 minutes, a San Diego Fire-Rescue dispatch supervisor said.

CHP officers shut down all northbound lanes for the crash investigation. The lanes were reopened by 5:20 a.m.

The deadly crash came one day after a semi truck crashed into a sedan on southbound Interstate 5 near Camp Pendleton, leaving the sedan ablaze and killing the sedan driver.

– City News Service