San Diego

Wrong-Way Driver Dies After Flying Off Escondido Freeway

A driver heading the wrong way on State Route 78 died after running off the freeway in Escondido, according to the California Highway Patrol. 

CHP spokesman Jim Bettencourt said at 3 p.m., Escondido police received a report of crash debris strewn on Metcalf Street.

Officers responded to search for the source of the debris, but for some time, they could not find a crashed vehicle.

Finally, when they began looking from above on SR-78, officers spotted a 2003 Surburban sitting vertically, nose down, against a concrete retaining wall that borders Metcalf Street. Inside the vehicle was a 67-year-old man from San Bernardino, identified as 67-year-old John Ben Disney.

Bettencourt said investigators do not know how long the vehicle and body had been there before they were discovered. 

CHP officials believe the driver entered the freeway at Broadway, traveling west in the eastbound SR-78 lanes. It appears the driver then went straight off the freeway and over an embankment.

"If you are driving the wrong way, there's nothing to stop you from pretty much going off the roadway here and crashing into a big concrete retaining wall that protects Metcalf Street for the traffic that's out there," said Bettencourt.

Investigators do not know if alcohol or drugs played a factor in the crash.

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