A 27-year-old mother and her two-month-old baby boy were killed in a crash in Borrego Springs Thursday as the woman made a U-turn, the California Highway Patrol confirmed.
According to investigators, the woman was driving a 2013 VW CC southbound on Borrego Springs Road south of San Pablo Road just before 4 p.m. accompanied by the baby boy sitting in his car seat in the back and a 51-year-old passenger sitting in the front.
CHP Officer Kevin Pearlstein said the woman pulled onto the right shoulder and came to a stop. At the same time, a 60-year-old man was driving a 2001 Dodge Ram pickup southbound on Borrego Springs Road, approaching the area.
Just then, the woman attempted a U-turn in her VW but did not see the Dodge approaching from behind.
CHP officials said the woman pulled directly into the path of the Dodge, and that driver had little time to react. He hit the brakes, but wasn’t able to stop before the front of the Dodge struck the left side of the VW.
The impact of the crash critically injured the driver of the VW, and she died at the scene. Her infant son was badly injured as well and was airlifted to Rady Children’s Hospital. However, he died at the hospital less than two hours later, CHP officials confirmed.
The passenger in the VW suffered moderate injuries, while the driver of the Dodge sustained minor injuries. No other cars were involved in the fatal accident.
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The crash is under investigation, but CHP officials said alcohol was not a factor. Investigators said the driver of the Dodge was traveling at 55 mph – the legal speed limit on Borrego Springs Road.
The infant was properly seated and strapped in a rear-facing car seat behind the driver’s seat in the VW, officials confirmed.
The mother and baby were residents of Borrego Springs, Pearlstein said, an unincorporated part of San Diego County.
The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office later identified the mother as Erendyra Fierro and her baby boy as Javier Salazar.
