Firefighters work to free trapped victim
Firefighters work to free a victim trapped in one of the cars. Courtesy OnScene.TV

A three-vehicle crash on a National City street left six people with major injuries Thursday and three others less seriously hurt.

The pileup on Paradise Valley Road near Plaza Boulevard occurred shortly before 1 p.m., when a white Scion veered off the westbound side of the road at high speed and struck an oncoming Hyundai Sonata east of Plaza Boulevard, according to National City Police.

At least one of those vehicles then hit an eastbound Subaru Crosstrek, Lt. Robert Rounds said.

Emergency crews had to use heavy prying equipment to get two or more of the victims out of the wreckage, Rounds said.

Medics took all nine people involved in the accident — four each in the Scion and Hyundai, and the driver and sole occupant of the Subaru — to hospitals. At least one child was among the patients, the lieutenant said.

None of the victims’ injuries were believed to be life threatening.

The cause of the crash, which left the roadway blocked for about two hours, remained under investigation Thursday evening.

— City News Service

Chris Jennewein is founder and senior editor of Times of San Diego.