Charges are expected to be filed against the driver who was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol during a multi-vehicle crash on State Route 67 in Ramona, the California Highway Patrol said Thursday.
The crash on Dye Road near Lansdown Lane caused major injuries to two people, including the driver, who were transported by air ambulance to area hospitals with major injuries.
CHP Officer Ken Paredes said the driver, a 56-year-old from Poway in a Mercedes sedan, was likely speeding headed westbound on Dye Road when it sideswiped a Subaru and collided head-on with a Toyota Tacoma truck.
The yet unidentified driver remained in the hospital Thursday but was expected to survive.
SkyRanger 7 showed firefighters rescue the driver of the truck, a 74-year-old man. Crews used saws to remove the top of the Toyota truck. He was also still in the hospital on Thursday.
The driver of the Subaru, a 53-year-old woman, was taken by ambulance to Pomerado Hospital in Poway with minor injuries. It was not clear if she had been released.
The crash was so violent the Mercedes was missing its entire front end after the crash and its engine block was left in the roadway.
#67IC [update] Crews report two major traumas and one minor trauma, all are adults. Both patients have been extricated. pic.twitter.com/I5EW2n59z5
— CAL FIRE/SAN DIEGO COUNTY FIRE (@CALFIRESANDIEGO) March 6, 2019
Dye Road was shut down between SR-67 and San Vicente Road, Cal Fire said.