The driver of a vehicle who went the wrong way on State Route 78, spun out and collided with a wall before plummeting to his death over the edge of the freeway, was identified on Saturday by the medical examiner.
John Ben Disney, 67, was driving his 2003 Chevrolet Suburban SUV westbound in the eastbound lanes of State Route 78 in Escondido at about 3 p.m. Friday when he merged into the center median and drove off an embankment at a high rate of speed before colliding head-on into a wall protecting Metcalf Street.
“Upon arrival, officers located a collision of a vehicle into the concrete retaining wall protecting Metcalf Street from SR-78,” CHP spokesman Jim Bettencourt said.
Officers and firefighters responding to the scene found Disney’s vehicle in the embankment between the westbound and eastbound lanes of SR-78, just east of Metcalf Street.
Disney was found inside his vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene of obvious trauma. The collision remains under investigation.
— City News Service
