A 22-year-old motorist who had just gotten into a crash on state Route 78 near Palomar College died Thursday when he walked into the path of another vehicle.
The Vista man lost control of his 2007 Ford Focus for unknown reasons while headed east through San Marcos shortly after 6 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.
The car struck a metal guardrail before veering off the roadway and plunging down an adjacent embankment, CHP public-affairs Officer Juan Escobar said.
The driver got out of the vehicle, climbed back up the slope and walked onto the freeway, where he was hit by an eastbound 2017 Toyota Camry.
The man, whose name was withheld pending family notification, died at the scene, Escobar said. The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office was called in around 6:35 a.m.
Authorities shut down the onramp from San Marcos Boulevard to eastbound SR-78 as well as the two right lanes of eastbound SR-78 near San Marcos Boulevard after the crash.
– City News Service
Updated 5:10 p.m. Jan. 7, 2021
