A van and a sedan crashed on a curvy Poway road Wednesday morning sending at least four people to the hospital, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said.
The van was heading northbound on Espola Road near Range Park Road when for unknown reasons the vehicle veered into oncoming traffic, crashing head-on with a Toyota Camry just before 8:55 a.m., SDSO said.
The van's driver was trapped in the vehicle when medics arrived.
"Thanks to the fire department they were able to cut the door open of the van and extract the driver," SDSO Sgt. David Toner said.
The driver and the van's four other occupants were taken to the hospital after reporting pain to medics, SDSO said. The driver had a knee injury and complained that her back hurt.
The driver of the sedan was able to get out of the car on her own and refused medical attention, Toner said.
The crash shut down the intersection of Espola and Twin Peaks roads, which was near Tierra Bonita Elementary School and Twin Peaks Middle School.
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Tow trucks were removing the vehicles at about 10 a.m. and the roadway was expected to reopen once the scene was cleared, Toner said.
Ray Usell, whose property backs up to Espola Road, says he's seen several crashes at the same blind curve as Wednesday's crash. He says in almost all of them, speed is to blame.
"People come down really fast, and I think it's just because of the Ramona Grade. The come down there fast, and they just continue going fast," Usell said.
SDSO officials haven't said speed is the reason for Wednesday's crash, but admitted that commuters often speed on Espola Road.
The department said it has tried several different strategies to reduce speeding in the area, including parking a cruiser on the side of the road with a mannequin inside.
