One dead in wrong-way crash on I-805 near border
SAN YSIDRO
A minivan driver is dead after being struck by a sedan headed the wrong way on southbound Interstate 805 near the U.S.-Mexico border Wednesday.
The crash happened just before noon just north of the spot where I-805 merges with southbound Interstate 5 in San Ysidro, California Highway Patrol officer Jesse Matias said. The two freeways merge less than a quartermile from the international border.
The white Audi was traveling the wrong way when it struck a blue Honda Odyssey, Matias said.
The Honda driver died at the scene. The Audi driver, a 29-year-old San Diego man, was taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries that were not considered to be life-threatening, he said.
Matias said the cause of the crash and the sequence of events are still under investigation. The CHP’s online incident log indicates a 911 caller said a white car was about to enter Mexico when the driver made a U-turn, headed north and crashed. TERI FIGUEROA U-T
Driver suffers serious injuries in fiery Interstate 15 crash SCRIPPS RANCH
A 28-year-old man suffered serious injuries after he crashed a car, which then burst into f lames, on Interstate 15 in Scripps Ranch near the Miramar area early Wednesday, a California Highway Patrol official said.
The man was headed south, just north of state Route 52, about 3 a.m. when the Toyota sedan he was driving veered to the right, off the roadway, and hit a guardrail, said CHP Officer Jesse Matias.
The car caught fire.
As flames engulfed the car, the man freed himself from the wreckage, and a good Samaritan — a FedEx driver — helped him move away from the burning vehicle, Matias said.
The man was taken to a hospital for treatment of his injuries, and he was expected to survive, Matias said.
Several freeway lanes were closed for about an hour during an on-scene investigation. Neither drugs nor alcohol were factors in the crash, Matias said. DAVID HERNANDEZ U-T
Prosecutors: Paramedic broke into home after medical call SAN DIEGO
A paramedic returned to a Rancho Bernardo home earlier this month after a medical call and broke in, resulting in an investigation that uncovered drugs — including fentanyl — and illegal guns in his home, prosecutors say.
The details, according to the county District Attorney’s Office, were revealed Tuesday during a hearing in which a San Diego Superior Court judge denied bail for 43-year-old Nicholas Adam Conniry.
Conniry has pleaded not guilty to several charges, including burglary and possession of fentanyl and an assault weapon. The charges are felonies, with the exception of the drug offense, a misdemeanor.
If convicted of all charges, Conniry could face up to 10 years and four months in prison.
The alleged crimes occurred around July 3 and 4, according to a criminal complaint. Records show San Diego police arrested Conniry on July 6.
At the time of his arrest, Conniry worked for Falck Mobile Health, the city’s ambulance provider, but he no longer works for the company, a spokesperson said.
On Tuesday, Conniry’s attorney, Howard Williams, asked the judge to set bail at $50,000. Williams told the court his client is not a flight risk or danger to the public.
The prosecution disagreed. So did Judge Aaron Katz.
In a brief phone interview after the hearing, Williams said his client lives in Temecula and San Diego and has no criminal record. He added that police seized several guns as part of the investigation, and that Conniry has none in his possession.
Deputy District Attorney Miriam Hurtado said Conniry wore gloves and removed a window screen during a burglary on Casero Road, and later returned to retrieve an iPad he had left behind.
During an investigation, police served search warrants at his home and found vials of fentanyl and other drugs — antibiotics and opioids — illegal firearms, including guns without serial numbers, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and “evidence of (gun) manufacturing,” Hurtado said.
Police also found a fake Department of Homeland Security badge that looked real, Hurtado said.
She added that evidence points to an “ongoing theft of drugs.” She also said the case shows Conniry victimized those he was called to help in emergency situations.
A preliminary hearing — where a judge will determine if there’s enough evidence for Conniry to stand trial — is scheduled for Monday. DAVID HERNANDEZ U-T