A witness told NBC 7 that the SUV involved in the crash was participating in a funeral procession headed to the cemetery, reports NBC 7’s Shelby Bremer.
Remarkably, all six victims — including five family members— of a head-on crash in Sorrento Valley early on Friday afternoon survived, officials said.
Two people, however, were seriously hurt in the wreck involving a Toyota 4Runner SUV and a 2020 Toyota Model 86 sedan in the 6100 block of Carroll Road at around 1:30 near the intersection with Pacific Heights Boulevard, officials told NBC 7 that one of them was the driver of the car, and the other was one passenger among five people riding in the SUV. All of those involved in the crash were hospitalized.
Police said the sedan was traveling at a high rate of speed before it hit the SUV head-on.
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"At this point, we’re seeing that one of the vehicles was traveling at a high rate of speed…," said San Diego police Lt. Jake Resch. "That vehicle, due to the speed, lost control and drifted over the double yellow lines, causing a head-on collision with our second vehicle."
A witness named Chris Weinman told NBC 7 that one of the vehicles was participating in a funeral procession to the cemetery. He said that members of his wife’s family were in the Toyota SUV ahead of him when the crash occurred. He said he was driving in the car behind the SUV when it was hit and sent airborne.
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"This care came careening around that bend very fast, and I told my wife, ' Look at this guy,' 'cause the guy is flying," Weinman said. "And she looks up, and we're watching it, and then we watch it just — he's not slowing down. He just starts sliding right over the lanes."
Four of the victims were taken to Scripps La Jolla, with the remaining victims sent to Sharp Memorial. At this point, those injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.
Police said the 4Runner driver's spine, left ankle and sternum were broken in the wreck, while a passenger in the SUV also broke his spine and sustained internal bleeding. Another passenger in that vehicle suffered broken ribs and also had internal bleeding. The driver of the sedan broke both legs, his pelvis and left arm.
The initial investigation indicated that speed may have been a factor in the incident, NBC 7 was told early in the afternoon. Later that day, police said driving under the influence of drugs was determined to be a factor in the incident.
