Two People Airlifted to Oceanside Hospital After Crash
Two people were airlifted to an Oceanside hospital after a serious accident involving a wrong-way driver.
Details about the Accident in Oceanside
The Times of San Diego is reporting that a wrong-way driver struck another vehicle in a head-on collision early Monday morning on Route 78 in Oceanside. Both of the drivers were airlifted to a hospital in Oceanside with major injuries, according to authorities.
The police department received several calls about a dark sedan that was traveling west in the eastbound lanes through the towns of San Marcos and Vista. The vehicle then collided with another vehicle- a small pickup – near College Avenue in Oceanside just before 3 a.m., according to fire officials and the California Highway Patrol.
Officer, paramedics, and emergency crews that responded to the scene of the accident found the woman behind the wheel of the vehicle and the male driver of the pickup. Both of the drivers were trapped in the wreckage of their vehicles and had to be cut out in order to be freed.
According to the authorities, both of the drivers suffered serious, but not life-threatening injuries and were flown to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla.
At this point, it is not immediately known why the woman was driving the wrong way down the interstate.
The eastbound lanes were closed for some time while the emergency crews cleared the area of the vehicles and subsequent debris. The roadway has since been cleared and reopened.
Important Information about Car Accidents in California
According to the California Office of Traffic Safety (COTS):
- Traffic fatalities in California decreased 1.1 percent from 2,107 in 2013 to 3,074 in 2014.
- The death rate per 100 million miles traveled in 0.91
- In 2013, 32 percent of all drivers that were killed in motor vehicle accidents that were tested, tested positive for legal and/or illegal drugs in their system.
