Passenger, 21, dies when SUV rear-ends box truck Fire at mobile home sends two occupants to burn unit

A 21-year-old woman died when the SUV she was in hit a box truck on Interstate 15 in Escondido early Wednesday, a California Highway Patrol officer said.

The woman was in a Honda CRV headed south on I-15 just past Ninth Avenue when it crashed into the back of a Freightliner box truck, Officer Mark Latulippe said. The right front of the CRV hit the left rear of the truck, he said.

The collision killed the woman, an Escondido resident riding in the right front seat of the SUV.

The 23-year-old Escondido woman driving the SUV was not injured, nor was the 44-year-old Moreno Valley man driving the box truck.

Debris from the vehicles littered the lanes on the right side of the freeway, and portions of it remained closed for the investigation and cleanup until about 7 a.m., Latulippe said.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

Police seeking driver of sedan that struck, injured motorcyclist

SAN DIEGO

A motorcyclist was struck and injured in a hit-and-run crash just after midnight in the Fairmont Village neighborhood, a San Diego police officer said.

The 33-year-old motorcyclist was headed north on Euclid Avenue, Officer John Buttle said.

At the intersection with Lantana Drive, a car described as a white Honda sedan crashed into the front end of the motorcycle. The collision sent the bike and its rider skidding through the intersection.

The sedan driver took off, headed south on Euclid, Buttle said. The motorcyclist sustained a leg fracture and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Traffic officers are investigating.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

OCEANSIDE

A man and boy were taken to a burn unit after fire erupted in their Oceanside mobile home late Tuesday, a city fire official said.

The fire was reported about 10:50 p.m. in Cavalier Mobile Estates, a mobile home park on Blue Springs Lane, off Oceanside Boulevard just west of Interstate 5, Oceanside Fire Battalion Chief Jessamyn Specht said.

Fire crews arrived to find smoke and fire pouring from the back of the home and were able to get it doused within 11 minutes, he said.

Two residents were flown to UCSD Burn Center — a man with burn injuries and a boy taken as a precaution. Neighbors told officials the man and child had crawled out of a window to escape.

Specht said cause of the fire is under investigation.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

Man who flooded Little Italy building gets probation

SAN DIEGO

A man who flooded all eight floors of a Little Italy apartment building last year, causing more than $2 million in structural damage, was placed on probation Tuesday for a term of three years.

Francisco Morales, 39, initially faced more than 50 counts for f looding the apartment building at 1810 State St. just after midnight on Feb. 25, 2019. Morales, who opened fire valves on each f loor, was arrested that night, a short distance from the scene of the crime.

Earlier this year, Morales pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and four counts of felony vandalism. San Diego Superior Court Judge Robert O’Neill, who presided over Morales’ preliminary hearing, elected to impose probation instead of time in custody and to require Morales to pay restitution that has yet to be determined.

Deputy District Attorney Nereida Melgarejo had asked the judge to impose the maximum possible state prison sentence of six years and eight months, noting that “at least 40,000 gallons of water were unleashed over the course of minutes.”

Damage to the 99-unit building exceeded $2.1 million, which is separate from the impacts and losses to the building ’s tenants.

In addition to massive property damage, Melgarejo said rising water levels in the building ’s stairwells led many f leeing residents to believe they were going to die.

Defense attorney Marie Maloney argued for probation, noting that her client had no previous criminal history and the state’s ongoing efforts to keep the prison population low during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While an exact motive for the f looding remains unclear, Maloney said “the conduct in this case did stem from mental health concerns.”