Tragedy struck a Loma Linda family when their car careened out of control along a San Diego highway, killing four of them and leaving three hospitalized just days before Christmas.
The group of seven was driving home from a relative's house in Carlsbad around 10:45 p.m. Sunday when their Toyota Sequoia collided with a Chevy Sonic in the eastbound lanes of SR-78.
The family's SUV traveled down an embankment near Nordahl Road in Escondido, flipped and crashed into a tree.
A 25-year-old Fallbrook man was questioned in the crash investigation, according to the California Highway Patrol. He was driving the Sonic and attempted to change lanes when he noticed the other vehicle.
CHP officers said the driver of the Sequoia tried to avoid the collision also but the two vehicles crashed into each other and traveled down the right shoulder of the highway.
Four people were pronounced dead at the scene. The victims have been identified by the Medical Examiner's office as a 65-year-old woman, a 75-year-old woman, a 40-year-old woman and a 9-year-old boy named Timothy Silalahi.
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Two surviving passengers of the Sequoia, two adult women, were taken to Palomar Hospital. A 19-year-old woman was taken to Scripps La Jolla Hospital. CHP investigators earlier identified the teenage survivor as the driver but now say that is under investigation.
The driver of the Sonic was uninjured. He was handcuffed by CHP officers at the scene and taken to a nearby station for questioning. CHP officers initially said he was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter. However, now officers say he was released pending further investigation. The CHP will turn over their investigation to the San Diego County District Attorney's Office to decide if charges are necessary.
Alcohol and drug use was not a factor in the crash, CHP officials told NBC 7.
