Two men were killed in a head-on crash Friday between a box truck and a sports car on a rural highway near Pauma Valley Country Club.
The driver of the cargo vehicle was heading west on State Route 76 in the Rincon area shortly before 10:30 a.m. when he saw a 2002 Mazda Miata heading directly at him in the wrong lane, according to the California Highway Patrol. He did not have time to steer clear of the oncoming car, and the vehicles collided just west of Lazy H Drive.
The driver of the Miata, a 24-year-old Escondido resident, and his passenger, a 27-year-old Carlsbad man, died in the car, which wound up wedged beneath the truck. Their names were withheld pending family notification.
The trucker, a 49-year-old Chula Vista man, and his 43-year-old male passenger suffered minor injuries, CHP public-affairs Officer Jim Bettencourt said. Medics took them to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido.
The accident forced a roughly three-hour closure of a stretch of the two-lane roadway.
“It is unknown if alcohol or drugs played a factor in this collision,” Bettencourt said.
— City News Service
