Friends and family Tuesday mourned a 29-year-old research technician who was fatally injured when her car was rear-ended and spun out of control during a series of crashes in Oceanside.
Amaranta Equador Kozuch-Seimer of Escondido died Sunday morning shortly after paramedics rushed her to a hospital, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The victim worked for the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research in its Applied Animal Ecology Division.
In a message to zoo staff, Allison Alberts, chief conservation and research officer for San Diego Zoo Global, said, “Amaranta will be remembered fondly as someone who dedicated her life to saving animals.”
Around 9 a.m. Sunday, a westbound Ford truck went through the intersection at the end of Highway 78 at a high rate of speed and rear-ended Kozuch’s Kia sedan near Moreno Street, sending the small vehicle into a spin, according to Oceanside police Sgt. Ignacio Lopez.
The Kia then struck a Toyota truck just as the Ford entered the eastbound lanes of Vista Way and struck a Chevrolet truck, he said in a statement.
The drivers of the Ford and the Chevrolet trucks both suffered moderate injuries and were flown to Scripps La Jolla Hospital, Lopez said, adding that both were men.
“Based on the preliminary investigation, it does not appear that alcohol was a factor. … However, speed may have been,” Lopez said, adding that the investigation was ongoing.
—City News Service
