Crime & Safety

Crash on I-5 Kills 2 After Truck Hits Pole Near Checkpoint

The southbound pickup drove off the road Saturday night and into a pole, igniting a fire that engulfed the truck.

A man, a woman and their two dogs were killed as their pickup truck hit a pole and exploded on Interstate 5 at the San Onofre truck weigh station, a California Highway Patrol officer said Sunday.

The driver was spotted inside the wreckage yelling for help, but was unable to get the door open before the truck burst into flames, according to CHP Officer Jim Bettencourt. The male driver and female passenger died at the scene.

They had been headed south on the freeway in a silver Chevy Silverado at an unknown speed about 10:40 p.m. Saturday.

Find out what's happening in San Clementewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A witness who was changing a tire on the roadside reported seeing the pickup truck strike a pole and explode, Bettencourt said. The pole supports a scanner that allows certain commercial vehicles to bypass the scales.

Due to the severity of the fire and the vehicle damage positive identification is not known at this time,” Bettencourt said in a statement.

Find out what's happening in San Clementewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Two dogs also died, he said.

Camp Pendleton firefighters responded, the CHP officer said. Three of the four freeway lanes were blocked for 1-1/2 hours.

The crash remained under investigation, Bettencourt said, and it was not yet known if alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash.

-City News Service


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.