A 52-year-old Escondido man died in a car accident in Poway Wednesday after his vehicle struck a brick wall and then a metal pole, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said.

The crash happened just after 8 a.m. in the 13200 block of Pomerado Road.

Investigators say the man was driving his 2004 Nissan Sentra northbound when, for unknown reasons, the car veered off the road and onto a sidewalk. The driver struck a brick wall along the roadway, followed by a metal pole.

When emergency crews arrived, they found the driver non-responsive. He was wearing his seatbelt, officials said.

The man was transported to Pomerado Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

The crash is under investigation.

The medical examiner’s office will determine the driver’s official cause of death, as well as his identity. Those details are forthcoming.

A crowd gathered before the California Regional Water Quality Control Board Wednesday afternoon to discuss a toll road in Southern California.

The Board’s meeting on Wednesday began discussing the 5.5 mile portion of toll road, that’s proposed to go from Oso Parkway near Tesoro High School to Cow Camp Road near Ortega Highway in San Juan Capistrano.

It was a continuance of a meeting in mid-March, which Los Angeles and Orange County residents and workers attended.

The Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency (TCA) wants to be granted a waste discharge permit. TCA needs this in order to move one step closer to constructing the State Route 241 Tesoro Extension.

Their goal is to begin construction in early 2014 and it would take approximately two years to complete the 5.5 mile stretch of toll road. More than 2,400 new construction jobs would be created, according to the TCA.

A TCA spokesperson told NBC 7, the project is designed to make traffic flow smoother in southern Orange County and provide an alternate route to the I-5. Lisa Telles, Chief Communication Officer for TCA, said the only decision before the Board today is regarding the 5.5 mile stretch.

“There is support and you will hear that people are against the project." Telles said, “I would challenge to say that they do not live where this project is going to be and they are talking about a project that they’re not going to benefit from and so why do they care and that’s my question to them.”

Opponents said, however, this is an important issue for people living in San Diego County.

“Yes, this permit is for the 5 miles in Orange County, but the thing is, if they get that permit for that first section, it essentially creates a domino effect for them to continue to build the road all the way to San Onofre State Beach which is entirely in San Diego County,” local resident Stefanie Sekich said.

Those against expansion of the 241 toll road told NBC 7, Trestles will eventually be negatively affected if the 5.5 mile toll road stretch is eventually built. They say while bodies of water in San Diego County may not be directly impacted with the stretch that’s before the Board today, there’s a domino effect that should cause great concern to residents here.

What’s more, another point of contention surrounds the Environmental Impact Report from 2006. Proponents say no supplementary EIR would be necessary.

Opponents say the problem relating to the 2006 EIR is two-fold. On the one hand, the TCA said another EIR is unnecessary, but is also saying the 5.5 stretch has nothing to do with the 2006 proposal that was denied. The 2006 proposal called for the 241 to be expanded from southern Orange County all the way through San Diego County. Opponents claim the TCA is saying two contradictory things.

Opponents also said building the toll road in chunks without additional studies is not legal.

If the Water Quality Board does approve the permit, opponents say they will appeal to the State Water Board.

The state Legislature is reversing course on a move to make certain provisions of the California Public Records Act optional for local governments.

Bombarded with criticism from media and government watchdog groups, the Assembly will vote Thursday to remove portions that address California's open records law from a trailer bill headed to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk.

At the same time, an identical budget bill that cleared both houses Saturday maintains language that recasts public record laws as "best practices" rather than state mandates. That bill is already waiting to be signed into law.

"It's sort of a genius thing for the Assembly to do because now the governor will have two versions of the same bill to sign - one with the changes and one without - and the Assembly is free and clear to say, 'We voted down the changes, and voted to support transparency,'" said Mark Reeder, a spokesman for Senator Mark Wyland (R-Solana Beach), who opposed weakening the public records law. 

The changes, originally proposed by Brown in January, would allow local governments like water districts, school boards, cities and counties to announce whether or not they want to opt-in to following state law. That law requires they respond to requests for information within 10 days, provide records electronically if they already exist in that same electronic format and assist the public with identifying which records they seek.

Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez issued a statement Wednesday that the bill would move forward without the proposed changes to the California Public Records Act. 

“To be clear, this means that the California Public Records Act will remain intact without any changes as part of the budget – consistent with the Assembly’s original action,” Speaker Pérez said.

Open-government advocates have urged Brown to leave existing public records laws untouched. But, the Legislative Anaylsts Office estimated the changes would save the state tens of millions of dollars a year by reducing costs to local governments that may, someday in the future, seek reimbursement for complying with the state mandate.

Those estimates were not based on any claims or billings submitted to the state by local governments because none have ever been received. The state has never paid out any claims from local governments to comply with the law, and no local governments have ever submitted a claim for reimbursement. 

"We didn’t do a detailed analysis. We lacked the hard data," said analyst Brian Uhler with the LAO.

But, Uhler says the costs are still being incurred annually, even if the bills have not yet come due.

The state is in the middle of the process of finalizing instructions for local agencies to make their claims, and Uhler says the state could be on the hook for bills that date back to 2001.

The LAO based their estimates on what it costs for the state's some 5,000 special districts; nearly 500 cities; 58 counties and 1,000 school districts to abide by the state's Brown Act laws, which require agencies post agenda items and conduct meetings in public.

State Senator Ben Hueso, who served in local government as a San Diego City Council member, said he supported making the cost-cutting changes to public records law so the state could allocate more money to education, mental health programs and dental benefits.

"I am a strong supporter of government transparency and enforcing the Public Records Act. Even with the budget trailer bill passing, public agencies are still required to produce public documents," Hueso said. "We simply cannot continue to subsidize something these agencies are required to do on their own."

A lawsuit over a fading, painted sign on a historic downtown building has now become political ammunition for critics of a proposed "arts and entertainment" district.

They say it reinforces their concerns about a "Times Square-West" -- festooned with gaudy signs, billboards and digital displays -- materializing in downtown’s financial district.

A court order in a federal lawsuit, issued on Monday, seems to set the case on a trial track -- or toward potential settlement talks between the owner of an outdoor advertising firm and the city of San Diego.

The plaintiff is seeking hefty damages over the city's revocation of a sign permit for the west wall of the long-vacant California Theater building, across Third Avenue from City Hall.

"The city wants to prevent those ads from going up there; they're probably going to have to pay him maybe millions of dollars," says Pamela Wilson, director of Scenic San Diego, which has mustered strong opposition to the proposed arts and entertainment district that would cover dozens of blocks north of Broadway.

"The court order, to me,” Wilson explained in an interview Wednesday, “ appears to say that as soon as that permit was issued and he spent the money for the lease on this wall, he has a vested right to this money, the flow of income."

The sign company proprietor pegs that expected flow of income at $40,000 dollars a month -- quite a profit over his monthly rental payments of $10,500 to the California Theater interests.

City officials didn't realize that the building’s historic designation ruled out tampering with the sign in question – a decades-old promotion for Tijuana’s Agua Caliente Racetrack -- when they issued a permit for new advertising there, then had to revoke it.

Historic preservationists say the money involved in the litigation shows what's at stake for outdoor advertisers -- potential landlords who’d rent out their exteriors -- relaxed in the arts and entertainment district.

The proposal is now under review by the City Attorney’s office after a heated, adversarial hearing in May before a City Council committee that sent the district’s proponents back to the drawing board to shore up their case.

Even folks on the street who'd welcome some economic stimulus are wary.

"If you're going to put it on things, put it on the right buildings,” says downtown resident Monique White. “ Not the wrong buildings."

But "visual blight" opponents have zero tolerance.

"The effort of our organization is to keep San Diego scenic, keep it unique,” Wilson says. “It's not Times Square. It's not Las Vegas. That's what people love about it, and that's how we want it to stay."

The city attorney's office declined comment for this story, as did executives of the Downtown San Diego Partnership, backers of the arts & entertainment district.

The sign firm's attorney tells NBC 7 that the lawsuit preceded the politics surrounding that issue – and should not be linked to it.

The family of a man who died after a fiery explosion along Interstate 8 more than a year ago is suing the federal government.

The family of 25-year-old Alex Martin said he was on his way back to Texas from San Diego after visiting friends on March 15, 2012.

According to court documents, Border Patrol agents got a call around midnight that Martin was going the wrong way on I-8 near Pine Valley. Agents say he failed to yield so they deployed spike strips and were able to pull him over.

At that time the Border Patrol claimed that an agent approached Martin's car window to arrest him, when Martin ignited something, causing his car to explode.

The family claim border patrol agents mistakenly used a taser, which caused an explosion and resulted in their son's death.

The family has since filed a wrongful death lawsuit this past week and said this could've been avoided if the federal government had properly trained agents.

“What caused the car to ignite was the spark from the taser that they shot at him,” said Attorney Eugene Iredale who is representing the Martin family.

Border Patrol has yet to say whether they used a taser, but Iredale claims their report shows that they did. He said said Taser International manufactures most tasers used by law enforcement officers.

According to a disclaimer that the company issues to officers, the taser can ignite explosive materials: including gasoline and other flammable liquids.

"This was a car that had driven over spike strips and then pulled over into a rough area,” explained Iredale. “So it's highly likely that there were fumes either from the engine or from the gas line,” he said.

More than a year later the Martin family calls their son's death a big mistake.

"This young man must have been in agony for the last minute or minutes of his life, he was burning up inside a car."

The U.S. Justice Department and U.S. Border Patrol has declined to discuss the case.

Officials at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park are searching for a lost stork that got swept up in a wind gust Monday and flew away from the park.

Zoo officials confirmed Wednesday that the painted stork has been gone since Monday afternoon. Animal care staffers are actively searching for the exotic bird in the North County and surrounding areas, and have alerted other local bird experts about the lost stork.

According to the website the Internet Bird Collection, the painted stork is a broad-winged, soaring, tropical species that breeds in lowland wetlands with trees in Asia, India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.

Typical of all storks, the painted stork flies with its neck outstretched. It has mainly white and black feathers, a red head and a long, downcurved, yellow bill, according to the Internet Bird Collection.

Safari Park officials say it is unknown how far the stork could have traveled.

According to website The Big Zoo, the painted stork is classified as a near-threatened species due to a moderately rapid population decline influenced by hunting, wetland drainage and pollution.

 

Investigators have arrested a San Diego man on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and criminal storage of a firearm after the shooting death of a 10-year-old boy.

Todd Francis, 52, surrendered to authorities Tuesday at San Diego police headquarters downtown.

Two weeks earlier, Francis' 9-year--old daughter was playing with Eric Klyaz in the family's garage in Miramar Ranch North. The children were playing with a firearm.

Klyaz was shot once in the chest with the gun, which investigators say was loaded and not locked. The boy died from his injury.

Francis' daughter was uninjured but shaken up, police said. She was questioned by investigators about the events leading to the fatal gunfire.

Homicide investigators said the gun was found in an area easily accessible to children.

However, through his attorney, Francis said he doesn’t know how the kids were able to get a hold of his gun. 

He also said the gun “... was not loaded and hidden in a separate location from the ammunition. Neither the gun nor the clip were immediately accessible to children and were hidden separately for home security."

As a result of a search warrant on the family's home, investigators took into custody a Sig-Sauer 9 mm handgun wrapped in a white T-shirt, a single bullet casing, a Remington 970 shotgun, a holder and blood evidence.

Francis was booked into the central jail at 12:24 p.m. Tuesday and released just before 1:30 a.m. Wednesday on $100,000 bail, officials said.

His attorney wanted to stress that her client surrendered himself to authorities voluntarily.

Meanwhile, the San Diego County District Attorney said its prosecutors are reviewing the evidence and will determine whether to file charges. An arraignment date was set for June 25.

On Wednesday, SDPD Lt. Jorge Duran told NBC 7 that all three charges filed against Francis are felonies. If convicted of all three charges, the San Diego Count District Attorney's office says Francis faces up to seven years and eight months in state prison.

Duran said police found two guns inside Francis’ home at the time of the shooting. One firearm was secured while the other -- a semi-automatic handgun -- was not. That was the weapon that was accidentally discharged in the garage.

Duran said Klyaz was killed by a single bullet to the chest. He said investigators are still trying to determine exactly how the weapon discharged. Duran said investigators do not yet know which child actually pulled the trigger and fired the fatal shot.

Duran said Francis’ daughter told investigators that she and Klyaz were both handling the gun at the same time, and both apparently had their fingers on the trigger.

Francis was not in the garage with the children at the time of the shooting, Duran said.

Meanwhile, Duran said Klyaz was laid to rest and buried Tuesday. A neighbor of the Klyaz family told NBC 7 that Francis and his family have moved out of their home in the Miramar Ranch North community.

Todd Francis is the brother of former mayoral candidate and millionaire businessman Steve Francis.

FBI agents in Southern California served search and arrest warrants Wednesday morning as part of an ongoing investigation involving an international sports gambling ring, according to officials.

Eighteen members of a group working mainly in California and Peru were arrested and charged with operating "Macho Sports" — an illegal Internet and telephone gambling business, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Four people were arrested abroad and 14 were arrested in Southern California. One arrest was made at a La Jolla home at 5848 Soledad Rd. owned by Amir Mokayef, confirmed FBI spokesperson Darrell Foxworth.

The investigation has been going on since 2011 and employed wiretaps and undercover agents.

Officials called the gambling ring "violent," because the group allegedly used intimidation and threats when it interacted with delinquent customers. The investigation also found that participants took millions of dollars in illegal sports wagers throughout the last decade in the San Diego and Los Angeles areas.

According to the indictment, brothers Jan and Erik Potocarrero ran Macho Sports from Lima, Peru, using the Internet and toll-free telephone lines to accept bets from customers in California. They then utilized bookies in Southern California to assist with operations.

Officials claim Mokayef was a bookie responsible for recruiting customers and collecting on bets. They also believe the La Jolla home was purchased with illegal funding.

Other locals arrested today were Michael Iaco, 30; Howard Blum, 51; Michael Massey, 44; and Salvatore Groppo, 37. Mokayef allegedly served as the booking manager for the men and worked with them to pay and collect bets.

Check back for updates on this story.

A woman was arrested for smuggling marijuana into the U.S. after a flat tire gave her away officials said Wednesday.

U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested the 24-year-old woman at the Interstate 5 checkpoint near San Clemente Tuesday.

Agents say the woman was driving a Nissan Xterra that had a flat tire.

As the driver pulled the SUV over to the side of the road, agents say they saw something bouncing inside the wheel of the tire.

Inside the vehicle’s four tires, agents found 24 bundles of marijuana in steel cases.

The marijuana weighed more than 140 pounds with an estimated value of more than $211,000 agents said.

The woman, identified by officials only as a U.S. citizen, is now in the custody of the Drug Enforcement Administration. 

San Diego County sheriff’s deputies were called to a home on the Viejas Reservation for a fight involving a large group of people.

As many as 10 people were involved according to initial reports.

Witnesses told deputies that some of those fighting were using bats.

Several patrol cars were parked outside the homes on Alto Court off of Viejas Grade Road west of the Viejas Recreation Center.

Emergency crews were treating several people at the scene including one woman.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

San Diego police announced an arrest in the fatal stabbing of a man in the heart of downtown San Diego.

Officers say a 52-year-old man was assaulted June 13 along the 600-block of Market Street outside the CVS Pharmacy on the bottom level of the Alta condo high-rise.

On Wednesday, investigators announced an arrest in the case.

Justin St. John, 34, of San Diego was arrested Monday on an unrelated charge.

Officials say they have identified him as the suspect in last week's stabbing and he will be arraigned on a murder charge Thursday.

The victim’s name is being withheld until family members can be notified.
 

A National City police officer, recognized Tuesday for his key role in the Christopher Dorner manhunt, looks back on the moment he helped identify the suspect in a revenge-fueled crime spree against the Los Angeles Police Department.

Timeline: Christopher Dorner Crime Spree

Officer Paul Hernandez was following up on the discovery of some Los Angeles police department property found in a dumpster on Feb. 6.

Hernandez found a bullet proof helmet, ammunition, a notepad from LAPD and a uniform with Dorner’s name on it.

Dorner’s name – which, at that point, was still unknown to law enforcement and the public, as the manhunt had not yet begun -- was also found on an officer's notebook, as well as Dorner’s serial number.

The name and serial number of Sgt. Teresa Evans was also on the notebook. Hernandez immediately called Sgt. Evans by phone to ask a few questions.

After their conversation, Evans pointed Irvine police in Dorner’s direction as a possible suspect in a double homicide.

Several LAPD families went into hiding and were under 24/7 police protection while Dorner remained at large.

Several days later the fugitive ex-LAPD officer died in a shootout with police at a cabin in Big Bear.

As he was being honored Tuesday by National City leaders for his persistence and follow through, Hernandez was quick to point out that he believes anyone in the NCPD would’ve done the same thing.

“It was just me, my area, my time, my day and I was there,” he told NBC 7. “Just taking that extra step that needs to be taken in any investigation.”

But even Officer Hernandez admits the step he took was vital in dismantling Dorner’s crime spree.

"It does show that little thing, possibly threw his whole plan of events was off because he got identified,” Hernandez said. “When I look at it now, I am very grateful that I was in that position to make that call and link up that case."

Hernandez was honored as the Employee of the Quarter by National City and also received an award from Crime Stoppers for Outstanding Work in the Fight Against Crime. 

Two National City residents were honored Thursday for saving a 6-year-old from drowning in an apartment complex pool.

Juan Lopez and Hunter Velasquez were recognized for their life-saving actions at the National City Council meeting.

Thirteen-year old Velasquez never thought he'd be considered a hero.

“Feeling kind of proud, kind of good,” said Velasquez. “I'm glad that the kid is safe.’

The kid he’s referring to is D'tyshyne Wallace. Velasquez discovered Wallace at the bottom of the complex pool while playing a game with his friends on May 26.

“I dived in to get some pennies that my friend threw and that's when I saw the kid,” he said.

The boy had fallen into 6 to 8-feet of water and was lifeless at the bottom.

“I just saw him and I'm ‘Oh, that wasn't right’ so I just dived in and grabbed him,” he said. “Go with my gut and do it.”

After Wallace was brought to the surface of the water, Lopez started doing CPR until the child began breathing on his own. The child survived the incident.

Lifeguards say Hunter should be considered an ambassador for National City.

"He said he was scared looking down in the water with the boy down there but he went and that is really the mark of a true hero,” said Sgt. John Sandmeyer. “To be scared and to still, despite that fear, to perform an incredible act. For that, we’re all inspired.”

Velasquez was awarded a scholardhip to the San Diego junior lifeguard camp that started this week. Lifeguards say the teenager has already become a leader.

Velasquez takes it all stride. He’s just thankful that Wallace is still alive.

“I see him around the apartments all happy. He just comes and says hello and gives me a hug and says ‘thank you,’” he said. 

A College Area business owner was cleaning up Wednesday after a stolen car drifted right into the front of his store.

Nathan Brooks owns the custom silk screening business B and D Enterprises on El Cajon Boulevard.

He’s now picking up the pieces after a car crashed the front window of the building and damaged some stucco.

“I just couldn’t believe a car actually had driven through my wall,” Brooks said. “I was thinking how is that possible? There are curbs and stuff.”

The vehicle, a 1993 Honda Accord, was stolen around 2 a.m. from a home in Lake Murray. The car’s owner saw the Honda driving off and called 911.

San Diego State University police spotted the car near Montezuma and College but lost it according to San Diego police Lt. Mark Bennett.

When campus police saw the vehicle again in the 5900-block of El Cajon Boulevard, they tried to pull over the driver.

Two people then bailed out of the moving car and took off running, Bennett said.

That’s when the car slammed into the front of Brooks’ store going about 5 miles per hour. Still, it was enough to do damage.

“I was just totally shocked, really shocked,” Brooks told NBC 7. “What else could go wrong?”

Lt. Bennett said officers searched the area for the suspects but made no arrests.

No one was injured in the crash.
 

San Diego police are investigating alleged illegal gambling in Paradise Hills.

Undercover detectives raided Neighbor Korner Market Monday night. They discovered three electronic gaming machines inside the convenience store and car wash.

Residents that knew of the alleged gaming operation were glad to see the machines go.

“You never know. When there is bad things around, bad things happen,” resident Brian Hackner said.

Hackner has lived on Potomac Street his entire adult life. He said the machines have attracted the wrong crowd.

“People I see in there gambling, I have never seen in this neighborhood before,” Hackner said.

Around the corner at Big Time Market, owner Saher Daud said the machines have caused him to lose business. With the temptation of gambling so close, even his regulars sometimes chose the Korner store over his.

The Neighbor Korner Market was open normal hours Tuesday, but no one from the store would comment on the matter.

It’s unclear if Monday’s raid was part of a larger investigation. There haven't been any arrests or charges filed in connection with operating the machines.

Regardless, Hackner said he’s pleased to see the corner cleaning up.

“I can have my mom go through there and not have to worry about anything happening,” he said.
 

The Board of Supervisors has passed a proposal to make county adoptions more efficient.

Chairman Greg Cox and Supervisor Dave Roberts led the initiative.

“We want to make sure that all redundancies and obstacles are removed,” Cox said.

“We shouldn’t let red tape stand in the way of bringing families together,” he said.

Although the measure passed Tuesday, it will be months before new any new policies are put into place. The Chief Administrative Officer has four months to research ways to streamline the process and create a plan.

San Diego County Child Welfare Services receives about 300 applications from families hoping to adopt each year, according to officials. 45 kids are currently waiting for homes.

Former State Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher and his wife Mindy have adopted two children. Fletcher said he sympathizes with other parents going through the process.

“As I went through the process, I would sometimes ask, ‘Gosh, why do I have to redo this when I just did a year ago for my first son?’ And they’d say, ‘Well, that’s the way it is,’” Fletcher said.

To come up with ways to improve the system, the board will solicit advice from social workers and prospective adoptive parents, according to officials. Fletcher also suggested reaching out to non-profit organizations.

“If your efforts only result in one more child being placed, all the work and effort will mean the absolute world to that child,” Fletcher said.

Last month, Cox and Roberts launched an initiative to find homes for “hard to place” kids in the foster care system. Cox said the county is looking toward less traditional families, including single parents and people with grown children.

For more information on adoption, call San Diego County Adoptions at 877-423-6788 or visit Iadoptu.org.
 

The cemetery lawn at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in Point Loma is undergoing restoration to fix some unsightly dried-up grass.

But the dying grass has some visitors upset. Veterans and their families said they think this is a troubling sight, and they want the problem fixed now.
 
Visitors said it's a sign of disrespect to the men and women who served our country and helped defend our freedoms.

Steve Raley traveled from Idaho, to pay respects to his father and mother buried at Fort Rosecrans.

"He came here, probably right after World War two. He came in the Navy,” he said. "He worked at Convair for over 35 years."

But the first thing Raley and his wife noticed was the sorry shape of the lawn, at this national shrine for veterans.

"Oh, yeah, these guys did everything they could for this country,” he said. “Country should take care of them a little better."

Victor Langlois and his son, Jay, say the parched brown grass is an insult to the thousands of soldiers, sailors and marines, who fought the nation's battles.

Jay lives in Korea, where Koreans are responsible for the upkeep of U.S. veterans' cemeteries.

"And it's absolutely immaculate. And when I see this, taken care of by the U.S. government, it leaves me with a really bad impression,” he said.

It’s not a case of neglect – crews are halfway through a major renovation at the cemetery. Roughly 9,000 headstones are being removed and realigned, row by row. A cemetery spokesman says the grass must be killed and removed, to do that.

The irrigation system is also being upgraded, with fully automatic timers.
   
But in a letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Congressman Duncan D. Hunter says those projects are taking too long.

Hunter says Ft. Rosecrans is the resting place for thousands of veterans, and: "We owe them the dignity and respect that they deserve, by ensuring that this property be maintained with the highest standards."

 "Well, I would just like them to take care of this place, maybe a little better than they are now,” said one visitor to the cemetery.

A spokesman for Veterans Affairs apologized for the problems and said the dead grass will be replaced with new turf, section by section, as the renovation is completed.

The project should be done in summer 2014.

Lifeguards traveled by boat to rescue a person trapped on a cliff Tuesday afternoon, according to officials.

The incident happened around 3 p.m. on the cliffs near Point Loma Nazarene University.

Aerial views showed lifeguards and firefighter teams hoist a man to safety. The man suffered an injured shoulder. He was transported to Scripps Mercy Hospital via ambulance.

Fire officials said another man also fell down the cliffs, but he wasn't hurt. He was able to climb back up and call for help, according to officials.

A woman jogging on a San Diego-area campus was attacked and groped from behind and now investigators have put together a sketch of a possible suspect.

On Tuesday, June 11, a woman was jogging on Campus Point Drive just south of Voigt Drive on the UC San Diego campus.

The woman, who campus police identify as a university staffer, said the suspect ran up behind her and grabbed her between her legs.

When the man ran off, the woman ran after him.

Officers say the suspect ran into some bushes and then in the direction of Howard Scripps Mercy Hospital.

He’s described as white with a shaved or bald head, an athletic build, in his late 20s to early 30s and about 6’1” officials said.

The victim reported the suspect was wearing a white shirt with blue jeans.

Anyone with information about this case or the identity of the suspect is asked to call Detective Brian MacPherson at (858) 534-4357 or send an email to detective@ucsd.edu mailto:detective@ucsd.edu.
 

Bold plans for the centennial celebration of Balboa Park were unveiled to great fanfare Tuesday by Mayor Bob Filner and event producers.

The year-long extravaganza is scheduled to kick off on New Year's Eve 2014 and attract millions of visitors throughout 2015.

It's generally acknowledged that the centennial will take tens of millions of dollars, thousands of volunteers and feats of logistical magic to pull off.

But the mayor and event organizers are gung-ho about its prospects for success, both artistically and financially.

"It's going to be a party in 2015, but it's going to be more than a party," Filner told a gathering of more than 100 park tenants, potential corporate partners, sponsors and civic leaders in a briefing at the Old Globe Theatre. "It will leave out-of-towners disappointed that they live anywhere else."

"We're going to unify our region with this event. We're going to inspire our young people, show off what makes San Diego such a great city and provide unique experiences that you're not going to find anywhere else," Filner added.

The original event that's being commemorated is the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, which really put San Diego on the world map back when this was a city of 40,000. Four million visitors from all over came to San Diego.

Promoters say the 2015 centennial will build on dozens of civic and cultural partnerships, sponsors and donors.

It will feature so-called "spectaculars," such as light and water shows and major concerts. One is planned with a binational theme at the border-area Friendship Park and Tijuana's Bullring by the Sea.

There will be a parade of arts, music, dance, drama and recreation along with connections to creative local businesses, industries and locally based celebrations.

Guests at the unveiling said the park of today is an even greater venue -- and that the centennial should easily surpass the 1915 Expo in visitor appeal.

"It's very inclusive, that's what I love: They haven't just said people in Balboa Park, they've said citywide, there's an opportunity for anyone anywhere in San Diego to submit an idea," said Ashley Gardner, director of the Women’s Museum of California in Liberty Station.

"We have city leaders who are all over it, who are committed to doing it. There's no doubt in my mind that we can't just take it to the very next level," Gardner said.

With events of this scale, there can be a lot of devils in the details: Funding, scheduling, staging, transportation, parking -- and weather, which may be the least of concerns.

The promoters, Adam Burke and Phil Green of Autonomy, put on Mexico's Independence Bicentennial in 2010, so it’s conceded that they have the requisite world-class experience.
 

San Diego police are asking for the public's help to find a man missing for more than 12 hours.

James Batsell lives with dementia and uses an inhaler for COPD.

He was last seen walking away from the Casa De Franklin at 310 35th Street around 8:20 p.m. Monday.

Batsell may have been seen by his roommate around midnight but police say this is a possible sighting.

He was last seen wearing a blue shirt with tan pants. He's described as approximately 6'1" and 195 pounds with blue eyes and brown/gray hair.

If you believe you have seen Batsell, contact the San Diego Police Department at (619) 531-2000.

If you thought you saw Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Treanor in Del Mar and Sorrento Valley Tuesday you were right.

The Long Beach resident is no stranger to San Diego. The beaches are just a jump on the Amtrak from Anaheim near her home with husband, professional baseball player Matt Treanor.

She practiced at Moonlight State Beach in Encinitas while training for what would soon become her third Olympic gold medal with longtime partner Kerri Walsh in London 2012.

On Tuesday, she returned to San Diego and visited Dog Beach and Coast Volleyball as part of a photo shoot for Spalding.

Having just completed her Master’s in Coaching and Athletic Administration last month, May-Treanor wanted to talk about her new focus - her passion for coaching girls in volleyball.

“I’m very excited about working with the next generation,” she said.

“It’s the young players who are going to keep the game alive.”

May-Treanor isn't likely to return to Olympic competition. She said she has other plans off the court. Among them, she and her husband want to start a family.

Also, she wants to help encourage the next champion team the way she was helped by many of the sport’s greats.

She mentioned Karolyn Kirby who dominated the sport in the early 1990’s, Liz Masakayan who competed in 1988 in Seoul and three-time Olympian Holly McPeak as among those who paved the way for her success.

“I watched those women for years just grind it out and they helped elevate the sport,” she said. “Kerri and I just took it and ran with it. So it’s really been a group effort.”

May-Treanor’s “Dream in Gold Junior Clinics” will be held throughout the year at several cities across the U.S. in connection with Spalding.

She sees her job now as getting kids ready to compete at a higher level so they can take advantage of some of the sand volleyball scholarships being offered at four-year universities.

“When beach volleyball got into the Olympics in 1996, do you think they were thinking it would become a collegiate sports? Probably not. But it’s come so far,” she said.

Detectives are searching for a man who dined and dashed in the Gaslamp District earlier this month.

On June 5 around 7 p.m. a man ate dinner at Toscana Café on 238 Fifth Ave. and received his bill worth more than $100. The suspect then told the hostess he was going outside to smoke a cigarette, but then never returned.

Police said one of the managers then searched for the suspect twice, ultimately finding him at nearby restaurant Lou and Mickey’s.  The suspect had changed into a different outside and was carrying a tan brown bag.

When the manager confronted the suspect, he pepper sprayed the manager and ran off to a parking structure on 289 Sixth Ave.

Witnesses then followed the suspect, and when he spotted them he allegedly threateningly pulled out a handgun. He then fled, and surveillance video showed he left the garage after changing clothes again.

The suspect’s other clothing was later found under a car in the garage along with a replica 357 revolver pellet gun. 

He is described as a man between ages 30-40, standing at 5-foot-6 and weighing between 150-160 pounds. The suspect was last seen wearing a blue shirt, black shorts, black socks and carrying a canvas bag.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
 

Coffee drinkers might soon reconsider splurging on 460-calorie Java Chip Frappuccino at Starbucks.

Beginning next week, the coffee giant will post calorie counts on their menu boards, getting ahead of the federal menu-labeling requirements that will go into effect later this year.

The company’s decision follows its recent smoking ban within 25 feet of stores. These moves demonstrate Starbucks commitment to becoming a health-conscious leader in the food and beverage industry.

It seems as if the change will be a win-win for customers, according to two departments. The Stanford Graduate School of Business found that when calorie information was posted, consumers ordered items with 6 percent fewer calories.

“We are encouraged by the findings highlighted in the Stanford study that show posting calories can have a positive impact on an individual's daily caloric intake,” Starbucks spokeswoman Linda Mills said.

Additionally, market research firm NPD Group found that consumers spent 20 cents less on average per purchase.

So, what does this mean? Restaurants with calorie counts posted on their menu boards may be selling healthier choices to their customers, but may also be losing money in lieu of the change.

Gay pride is showing up like never before in some new places this month. The question some are asking - is it about social values or is it about money?

In Hillcrest, rainbow stickers and flags are a way of life. For business owners, they are a welcome sign to the gay community.

Some consumers say the symbol often used to promote Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender pride makes them feel welcome and accepted.

Others even go as far to say they opt to give those companies their business just for supporting their lifestyle.

Leslie Evans, owner of Creative Futons and Furnishings, says she is shocked by how quickly the marketing of the LGBT lifestyles has taken root in corporate America.

"I'm totally blown away that it's changing so quickly," Evans said.

Evans said she has found that kind of support in new places like Macy's which recently launched its a Pride & Joy campaign - complete with clothes out of the closet and on store shelves.

"Anytime there is a decision made for marketing it's a business-related decision, somebody’s talking about it, looking at the bottom line," said San Diego State Marketing Professor Michael Belch.

Recent attitude surveys among consumers show more tolerance towards diverse markets - spelling opportunity Belch said.

Even the NFL Players Association is selling Pride T-shirts with players’ names who've given their support to the movement.

"You're tapping into a market that has a lot of money," Evans said.

However, there is the gamble a company may see some loss of another consumer group.

“You're treading the line between alienating people who still have conservative values and looking at attracting people who may have more liberal values," Belch said.

June - increasingly the month where social values and business decisions collide around a word called diversity.
 

San Diego County leaders voted to support so-called Hazel's Law, a bill that would close a loophole in current sex trafficking legislation. 

The proposed legislation is named for a native San Diegan who was abducted as a minor, held captive for nine months and forced into prostitution in 2010.

Hazel C. was the victim in a San Diego case which was delayed while the prosecution struggled to prove the trafficker knew his victim was a minor.

In high school, Hazel was on the debate team and was an honor student. It was at that time she said she fell victim to a “guerrilla pimp.”

She explains there are several types of traffickers that are defined by the tactics they use – force, fraud or coercion.

Guerrilla pimps are the most dangerous Hazel said.

“They beat, they maim, they are very, very violent,” she said.

Right before her senior year, she said he moved her an hour away from North Park where he kept her for nine months.

She remembered the day she broke free and spoke about it on the steps of the Hall of Justice in April. 

“He was angry and he assaulted me and broke my nose and bloodied my lip. Out of anger, he left and forgot his cell phone. I ran, locked the door, snagged his phone, made a call and was gone 20 minutes later,” she said. 

On Tuesday, Hazel C. encouraged the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to recommend H.R. 1690, a bill proposed by Congressman Juan Vargas that would close a loophole by removing knowledge of a victim's age as a requirement for child sex trafficking cases.

“There’s nothing that these men should be able to say to receive less time for selling our kids,” Hazel C. said Tuesday.

Supervisors agreed and voted to unanimously support the bill.

Alicia Kozakiewicz of The Alicia Project is a victim whose story is similar to Hazel’s. At 13, she was approached by a man online.

“I was raped. Raped and tortured,” Kozakiewicz said.

“This monster kidnapped me and took me to Virginia where I was held captive in his basement dungeon,” she said.

Through her organization "Alicia Project," Kozakiewicz speaks nationwide about her experience.

She's pushing for her own law, which would send more funding to agencies that specialize in rescuing children.

“Parents, people in general, need to pay attention to the laws that are out there and contact their legislators. Tell their legislators what they need and they support a certain law,” Kozakiewicz said. 

The bill, HR-1690, was referred to committee on Friday. Read the full text of the bill here.
 

A man faces charges of driving under the influence after his car slammed right into a police patrol car in Pacific Beach Tuesday.

The San Diego police officer was traveling on Garnett Avenue around 2:30 a.m. Monday when his patrol car was struck by an oncoming driver.

Officials say the driver of a Hyundai Accent ran a stop sign on Morrell Street and struck the patrol car.

The officer used his radio to request an ambulance for himself officials said. Both drivers were transported to a nearby hospital for minor injuries.

The 28-year-old officer, who was not identified, was described as a 5-year veteran of the department.

The Accent driver is 23 and was arrested on one count of driving under the influence officials said.
 

Officials have arrested the suspect in a statewide Amber Alert - a father believed to be high on drugs and traveling with a 5-month-old baby, deputies said.

Kenneth Welch, 42, was wanted for allegedly trying to run over the child's mother at a Valley Center home, deputies said.

He was believed to be heading towards La Jolla or Oceanside with his infant son in the vehicle when the alert was issued Tuesday.

San Diego County sheriff’s deputies spotted a black Toyota pickup with 20-inch chrome rims and license 4X99472 at 958 Mar Vista Drive in Vista.

Deputies said they arrested Welch about a block away from the truck. Officials said the baby was found safe but did not release details about where they located the child.

Welch is a high-risk parolee who has served time in prison.

He's accused of attempting to run down his girlfriend at a Valley Center home around 2 a.m. Tuesday.

When deputies arrived to the home on Poomacha Road they found the woman in need of emergency care. She was transported to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries deputies said.

Officials told the public to be on alert for Welch and the truck saying they thought he was armed and  under the influence of methamphetamine.

A large San Diego company could cut up hundreds of jobs after it asked its employees to voluntarily resign last week.



On June 12, many Ashford University employees received a distressing email from their employer, informing them of a “voluntary work-force reduction program." The offices affected include locations in Kearny Mesa and Carmel Mountain in San Diego, and locations in Iowa and Colorado.


WATCH Video: Ashford University asks employees to resign

Now workers face a difficult choice: Leave voluntarily now with a severance package, or risk being laid off later, without those benefits. They are offered three months of severance pay and extended health care coverage if they resign.

A lawsuit threatening this summer's 60th annual Over-the-Line (OTL) tournament is getting serious attention at city hall, as well as in superior court.

The plaintiffs, onetime promoters of those boozy Floatopias of recent years, claim they're getting second-class treatment.

Behind the scenes, there’s word a solution is in the works.

But in the court of public opinion, people are denouncing FreePB.org's case against the city -- saying it's holding OTL hostage, unless FreePB gets a special event alcohol permit it failed to obtain from city officials.

"What (FreePB) ought to be doing is look what OTL has done,” said Clairemont resident Robert Scott. “ Looks like (OTL has) gone to great lengths to actually have areas where people can drink -- and areas where people absolutely cannot drink."

OTL has matured quite a bit since 1954 -- especially over the last few years after city voters passed Proposition D, a ban on booze at beaches and waterfront parks.

Now, the sponsors -- those free-spirited members of the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club -- need special event permits for alcohol consumption, calling for designated beer tents, security guards and ID checks.

FreePB.org activists -- cheerleaders for the "Floatopias" on Sail Bay whose ringleaders exploited a legal loophole that eventually was closed -- want a permit from the city for a BYOB "Leisure Olympics" at Crown Point Shores late next month.

Organizers have told NBC 7 they can't afford the expense of complying with the police department's regulations that apply to OTL -- which they claim is getting preferential treatment by not having to undergo an environmental review.

"Now what the city's trying to say is, if you're an old-timer connected to the political structure, that you get this special treatment," FreePB spokesman and lawsuit plaintiff Rob Rynearson said in an April 29 interview with NBC 7, before City Council’s Public Safety & Neighborhood Services Committee rejected the group’s appeal of the police department’s denial of a special event permit application.

Rynearson could not be reached for comment Monday, and FreePB’s attorney Cory Briggs withheld comment pending back-channel talks with city officials.

According to sources familiar with potential settlement discussion at city hall, FreePB's Leisure Olympics might be permitted to share space at Fiesta Island during OTL, subject to the same on-site rules and restrictions.

FreePB was on the losing end a similar court case in 2010.

Pacific Beach resident John Savage rejects the notion that FreePB has been treated unfairly: "They're quite frankly the reason that the bans got put in place -- the kinds of litter, the issues and problems that they don't want to be responsible for."

Meeting with reporters Monday, City Councilman Kevin Faulconer lauded OMBAC’s approach to its alcohol exemption.

"They've spent a lot of time and effort on security, very clear rules of the road, and it's a process that works," Faulconer said. "I think the lawsuit's unfortunate (for) a group that has proven that it can follow the rules, and that's all we ask.”
 

One person died after a car veered off the road and into a ravine, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The accident happened around 4:15 p.m. Monday on westbound State Route 78 in Santa Ysabel.

CHP issued a Sig Alert. SR-78 was closed between Riverwood Road and Springview Road for several hours. Traffic was diverted to side streets.

No other vehicles were involved in the crash. The cause is still under investigation.

View SR 78 and Riverwood Rd. in a larger map

The man accused of luring an Escondido boy across the country now faces federal charges.

36-year-old Tony McLeod of Tampa, Fla., has been charged with enticement of a minor, according to federal officials.

The San Diego District Attorney’s Office already filed charged against McLeod last week. They include child abduction, meeting with a minor to commit a sex offense, online enticement of a minor, contact with a minor to commit a felony and enticing a minor to produce child pornography.

A 14-year-old boy from Escondido was reported missing June 10. Phone records showed he had been communicating with someone named “Tony,” according to officials.

Officials tracked McLeod to the Los Angeles International Airport. Officials said he was traveling to Florida with the boy, who boarded the plane under a fake name.

McLeod was arrested when they landed. He remains in custody in Florida.
 

Firefighters extinguished an apartment fire in Chula Vista on Monday afternoon.

The incident happened shortly before 5 p.m. on G Street near Woodlawn Avenue at a two-story building.

Flames were contained to the bedroom area, and firefighters were able to extinguish it in 10 minutes.

A grandmother and a 4-year-old child suffered minor smoke inhalation, according to officials. They were transported to UC San Diego medical hospital.

Fire investigators also responded to the scene.

Check back for updates on this story.

The man accused of killing his girlfriend and hiding her body under a bed appeared in court Monday.

Arturo Salazar, 24, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon. The judge set bail at $5 million.

Oceanside police discovered the body of Edith Andrea Garcia, 21, under a bed inside a garage on Leeward Court on June 13. The couple and their two young children were apparently living in the garage.

Despite the not guilty plea, officials said Salazar has confessed to the murder.

In an exclusive jailhouse interview with NBC 7, Salazar said he was upset with Garcia for cheating on him. He said they got into a heated argument and he slit her throat last Wednesday morning. He concealed her body under the bed before the children awoke.

This is the second time Salazar had been charged with domestic violence against Garcia. He faces 26 years to life in prison.

A readiness hearing is scheduled for June 25.

Inside his office at the headquarters for the San Diego Unified School District, Superintendent Bill Kowba can sit back and smile as he takes stock of his tenure.

Kowba led the state’s second-largest school district through what he has described many times as the worst recession since the 1930s.

“We’ve survived, we’ve strived and we’re better for it,” Kowba says.

Kowba is retiring at the end of June after seven years with the district. Four of them were as the top administrator in charge of managing the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in the budget and hundreds of educators and staff members.

“We lost people and money but we never lost our sense of purpose,” he says. “We never lost our course and that was education excellence.”

Kowba feels he’s done all he can to do the budget balancing, resource stretching and it’s time for a professional educator to take the helm now and focus on several critical education issues.

Even though he’s primarily a numbers guy, Kowba lists the pinnacle of his tenure as the district’s nomination for the Broad Prize.

“You can’t apply for it. You can’t strategize to get it,” he explains. “You have to have four years of sustained growth.”

“The Broad nomination validates that their good work – their blood, sweat and tears made a difference,” he said, “Made a difference in kids over the last four years.”

Under his leadership, graduation rates improved as did standardized test scores and several propositions were passed.

One that gives more money to schools, a long-term promise that takes at least some of the financial pressure off the incoming superintendent.

The low point could be described as taking too big of a financial bite out of key departments necessary when a large organization implements drastic cuts – Human Resources and Finance.

“Every one of our departments and all of our campuses were cut. No one was immune from this terrible reality,” Kowba said. “Some took different depths of cuts and those were two I probably would’ve adjusted.”

His experience as the district’s former CFO was crucial to a tenure focused on how to balance the budget while staying on the mission to achieve academic excellence.

“It wasn’t easy and the work’s not done,“ he says noting that the challenge he called an honor and a privilege will now be in the hands of educator Cindy Marten, the former school principal handpicked by trustees to replace him.

Educators across the country are waiting to see where she takes the conversation.

An educator for 25 years, Marten made headlines in 2011 when featured in the New York Times for making significant progress in test scores at a school where 85-percent of students are English learners, 100-percent live in poverty.

Her focus will be making every neighborhood school the “school of choice.”

Her style will likely get her out in the community, making sure students and parents feel included in the process.

After years of long days at the office, Kowba says he has a lot of catching-up to do on family time.

Now, it’s with a mixed set of emotions that he faces the next challenge yet to be determined.

“I will certainly miss the great collaboration with kids, with staff,” he said.

“It’s time for me to move to another passage.”

A man died after slamming his van into a traffic light pole in the South Bay, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The accident happened around 10:15 a.m. Monday on the southbound Interstate 805 ramp to Palm Avenue.

Lorie Williams, who witnessed the crash, said the victim was speeding.

“When you come off a ramp, you’re supposed to slow down,” Williams said. “He was going full force.”

Williams and other witnesses tried to help the man, who was the only person inside the van. Williams said the victim was responding at first, but started to lose consciousness before the ambulance arrived.

“He’s in my prayers. I feel so sorry for him,” she said.

The victim’s name hasn’t been released. CHP is investigating the cause.

After months of complaints and debate, the smell at one of San Diego's most popular tourist destinations may be a bit more pleasant.

After an accumulation of bird droppings left an unwanted scent near the La Jolla shoreline, a cleanup process began Monday that will hopefully eliminate the unwanted odor.

The smell reduction involves spraying bacteria to eat away the bird poop. It's a 10-day, $50,000 process being run by a group called Blue Eagle. Crews will work to spread a certain kind of bacteria on the rocks, and biologists say the majority of the smell should be gone in a couple hours.

The long-awaited cleanup of the La Jolla Cove has locals ready for some fresh air. For months, the pervasive stench has been so bad, restaurants near the coast claimed it discouraged diners from eating there.

“The clean-up is an A+ on my list,” said Anton Marek from Goldfish Point Café.

It took many hurdles to get the plan in place. First, people had to wait for the bird’s nesting season to end. Then permits were obtained so that none of the product sprayed on the feces ends up in the water.

Mayor Bob Filner even called the problem a health and safety issue to get an exception from federal authorities.

“We’ve spent the last two weeks testing and we think it’s going to work,” he said.

But the big question ahead is: What happens when the birds come back? Filner said they’d have to look at a more long-term plan.

About a decade ago, the city put up a fence for safety reasons to get people off the rocks. Since then, birds took over, creating the mess.

If the fence stays, Filner said the city will have to look into another solution. He said the city can't keep spending money to clean the rocks every couple months.

“Unless there are people out there the way it has been for decades and decades, we’re going to have this problem,” he said.

Locals are happy to have the smell leave, but at the same time some said it’s only natural.

“I come to see the view. The smell comes with it… I ignore the smell,” said one visitor.

A National City woman pleaded guilty Monday for her role in a deadly wrong-way highway collision six months ago.

April Thompson, 23, was behind the wheel of a white pickup truck around 1 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 29 and traveling the wrong way on State Route 52.

Thompson’s vehicle ran head-on into a VW beetle driven by Jayme Midlam of Santee. The 25-year-old Midlam was pronounced dead at the scene.

Prosecutors said Thompson had a blood-alcohol level that was double the legal limit at the time of the crash.

On Monday, Thompson pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges. She is scheduled to be sentenced September 6.

ViaSat Inc., the Carlsbad maker of satellite equipment and provider of Internet services, is branching out to offer residential telephone service beginning June 17.

Called Excede Voice, the service would complement the company’s Internet access service called Excede Internet, which it provides through its ViaSat-1 satellite. ViaSat says it’s the first all-satellite phone/Internet double play with unlimited local and long distance calling within the U.S. and Canada.

The company is also offering a full, triple play bundle of Internet, phone and TV access starting at $99 a month.

The introductory offer for the phone service with unlimited calling to all 50 states and Canada is $19.99 per month. Prices for the double play bundle begin at $69.98 a month, depending on the type of Internet plan selected.

ViaSat’s engineering team spent a year developing the residential telephone service and another year in technical and user testing with hundreds of consumers before rolling it out, the company said.

ViaSat launched its own satellite in 2011 to provide Internet service to many areas of the country that didn’t have cable, and were relegated to slow download speeds. Excede Internet now counts about 297,000 subscribers. A recent report by the Federal Communications Commission found that Excede outperformed all other ISPs, delivering promised speeds that were equal to or better than the advertised 12 megabits per second, the company said. 

The Business Journal is the premier business publication in San Diego. Every day online and each Monday in print, the Business Journal reports on how local business operate and why businesses leaders make the decisions they do. Every story is a dose of insight into how to run a better, more efficient, more profitable business.

An off-duty San Diego police detective lost his part of his leg after an accident Sunday in Alpine.

Detective James "Chappie" Hunter remained in the hospital Monday. Besides having his left leg amputated below the knee, he was also treated for a broken arm and internal injuries, according to officials.

Around 7 p.m. Sunday, Hunter’s motorcycle collided with a white sedan in the 2100-block of Alpine Boulevard.

The car made a right turn and clipped the detective’s motorcycle, according to witness Ryan Parker.

“We were just coming back from dinner and we rolled up and we saw the guy lying on the ground,” Parker said.

Parker said he could tell immediately the rider’s leg was seriously injured.

“His leg was completely in a wrong, you know, different spot than he was. It didn’t look very good at all."

Mercy Air flew Hunter to Sharp Memorial Hospital.

Hunter is a 19-year veteran of the San Diego Police Department who works on the Human Trafficking Task Force, according to officials.

The detective was “alert and thinking positive about the future,” said SDPD Sex Crimes Unit Lt. Chuck Kaye, who works closely with Hunter.

Kaye described Hunter as "a big Cross Fit guy" who is in excellent shape. He added that will help Hunter in his recovery.

San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne and three police captains visited Hunter in the hospital Monday. Lansdowne said he was in good spirits.

Despite some media reports that identified the driver as an unlicensed 15-year-old girl, CHP officers said the driver was 17 and has a valid permit. The driver was with her mother at the time of the crash.

California Highway Patrol Officer Kevin Pearlstein said the collision is under investigation. After the investigation, officers will determine if charges will be filed, he said. 

Meanwhile, the San Diego Police Officers Association (SDPOA) has set up a fund to help Hunter, his wife and young son. Checks should be made payable to SDPOA with “Detective Chappie Hunter” in the memo line. They can be sent to:

San Diego Police Officers Association
Widows and Orphans Fund
8388 Vickers Street
San Diego, CA 92111

You can also contact the SDPOA office at 858-573-1199.

An accident along northbound Interstate 15 in Scripps Ranch involved as many as seven vehicles officials said Monday.

The crash happened around 7:20 a.m. at I-15 and Carroll Canyon Road.

Interactive Traffic Map

One person was trapped according to San Diego Fire-Rescue officials. Three other people suffered minor injuries.

Traffic was backed up as far south as State Route 52.

Check back for updates on this developing story.
 

The San Diego-area woman fired from her teaching job because of her ex-husband's violent behavior has a job offer.

A school official in the Los Angeles area made the offer after seeing NBC 7 San Diego’s coverage on the controversial termination of a teacher at Holy Trinity School in El Cajon.

Carie Charlesworth was emotional after learning that the viewer, who wants to remain anonymous, was so touched by her story she would like to offer her a job.

"It's good to know that people generally care about other people," Charlesworth said.

Charlesworth is the victim of domestic violence and was terminated from her teaching job earlier this year, after school officials said they were concerned about her ex-husband's threatening behavior.

The second grade teacher was put on indefinite leave, and her four children were also asked to no longer attend the school.

A letter sent to Charlesworth said that school officials are concerned about her ex-husband's "threatening and menacing behavior," and as a result they "cannot allow" her to continue teaching at the Holy Trinity School.

Despite an outpouring of parents who voiced their support for the school's decision, this anonymous school official says she's willing to take the risk and give Charlesworth a job.

"For me, I was angry at the thought that she had done nothing wrong, and yet she was being hurt by that herself," the school official said.

The woman runs a private school in the Los Angeles area and said from educator to educator, it's the least she could do.

"If nothing else, I'm more than happy to simply say to her, 'There's somebody out there that cares,'" the official told NBC 7 San Diego.

After taking her situation public, Charlesworth thought her career would be over. Now she says she's beyond thankful to get another chance.

"To take someone they don't even know and to offer a job opportunity,” she said. “It's amazing to me."

Charlesworth and the school official still need to talk things over, but she said she would be willing to relocate to the Los Angeles area for the job.

She's still on paid leave from the school, but that will run out in August. So she said she is exploring other options.

Her ex-husband is scheduled to be released from jail at the end of June.

Meanwhile, both the San Diego Catholic Diocese and the school have declined to comment on this story.
 

Mission Trails Park was closed during the day Monday as crews monitored hot spots at a nearby brush fire, according to fire officials.

The fast-moving fire began around 4:30 p.m. Sunday off eastbound State Route-52 between Santo Road and Mast Boulevard. Several ground crews responded to the scene, as well as helicopters.

The fire scorched approximately 110 acres, according to officials. Heavy smoke was visible to drivers off the highway, and fire helicopters and air tankers could be seen making drops in the impacted area. (See photo below.)

Crews had the fire surrounded late Sunday night, but stayed on the scene to watch for possible flare-ups.

Residents in Santee and El Cajon said they could see and smell smoke and ash stemming from the fire.

No injuries have been reported.

A SigAlert was issued for a portion of eastbound SR-52 near the Santo Road exit Sunday afternoon. As of Monday morning, all lanes of SR-52 were open to traffic.

Fire officials said crews are starting to leave the scene and the park could reopen Monday night.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

Cathedral Catholic High School (CCHS) coach Will Cunningham took some time Sunday to express his gratitude to the San Diego community for rallying around his family after a deadly crash that left his wife and three daughters seriously injured.

For the first time since the March 17 crash, Cunningham addressed the community at the Cathedral Catholic High School Theater on Father’s Day.

With his daughters, wife and son by his side, the coach said he was extremely grateful for the community’s support, prayers and donations during these difficult past three months.

On the night of St. Patrick’s Day, a suspected drunk driver traveling the wrong way on State Route 52 slammed his car head-on into the Cunningham’s family minivan.

The minivan was occupied by the coach’s wife, Alisa Cunningham, and the couple’s three daughters, Jayden, Logan and Taylor Cunningham.

Mrs. Cunningham and her girls were all transported to local hospitals with multiple serious injuries.
Nine days after the crash, Jayden and Logan were released from Rady Children’s Hospital, while Taylor and Mrs. Cunningham remained hospitalized.

Taylor was in a coma for 17 days and spent a total of 75 days in the hospital. She was recently released and with the whole family now back home, they continue to recover.

The wrong-way driver, Santee resident Matthew T. Leonardo, 30, was killed in the crash.

On Sunday, Coach Cunningham gave an update on the conditions of Mrs. Cunningham, Logan, Jayden and Taylor.

The coach said his wife suffered broken ribs, a traumatic brain injury, a partially severed foot, smashed left hand and bruises. Logan, their youngest daughter, suffered lung damage, a fractured coccyx, deep lacerations and a concussion.

Cunningham said Jayden sustained a fractured neck, fractured scapula, deep lacerations and a concussion. Taylor suffered a two broken wrists, a fractured pelvis, a broken right hip and a traumatic brain injury, keeping her hospitalized for more than two months.

“We are now in the process of trying to heal, physically and mentally. The process, we’re told, will take some time,” said Cunningham on Sunday. “The girls have all begun to rehab in an effort to get back to where they were before.”

“Spiritually we know that it’s only by the grace of God that my wife and daughters made it through the accident,” he continued.

The coach said his family still has tough days ahead, but he knows they can overcome anything with faith and the constant love and support they’ve been receiving.

“Our new journey is just beginning, and we could appreciate any and all continued support as we strive to heal as a whole and move forward as a family,” he said.

No matter the difficult days ahead, Cunningham said he’s thankful to have any and all time with his family.

“It’s a blessing to have those days. Whatever the trial, the adversity – I’m looking forward to those days, because I have them,” he added.

“We are blessed, we’re very blessed,” said Mrs. Cunningham.

The mother also said she’s proud of how her children have adapted to their situation and how they continue to be strong.

Immediately after the crash, the CCHS and San Diego communities rallied around the family. On Mar. 19, CCHS students, parents and teachers united for a special mass dedicated to the Cunningham family.

Since the crash, CCHS director of communications Kimberly King has been issuing updates on the family’s recovery through the school website.

Friends and loved ones have also been posting updates about the family online and collecting donations for a Cunningham family fund that has helped them get through these difficult few months.

Those who wish to donate to the family can also do so at any San Diego County Credit Union branch by writing a check payable to the "Cunningham Family Accident Fund” or by visiting this website.