DEL MAR–A vehicle collision in Del Mar Saturday evening sent several people to the hospital, the Sheriff’s Department said Sunday.
Deputies say the collision occurred at the intersection of Camino Del Mar and Del Mar Heights Road.
When the deputies arrived, they discovered there had been a collision between a Kia Soul that had been northbound on Camino Del Mar and a Ford Explorer, turning from southbound Camino Del Mar to eastbound Del Mar Heights Road.
The Soul was engulfed in flames and all four former occupants were lying along the sidewalks nearby. Fire personnel extinguished the flames and began treating the occupants of both vehicles. Based on the statements of an independent witness, the 53 year old-male driver of the Explorer turned eastbound against the solid red arrow, after the light for southbound through traffic had changed to green. Another witness that lived nearby stated the Soul did not appear to be travelling at an excessive speed while going through the intersection northbound. The driver of the Explorer, and both rear passengers from the Soul were transported to Sharp Memorial Hospital’s Trauma Unit. The 32 year-old male driver and the front passenger of the Kia were transported to Scripps La Jolla’s Trauma Unit.
All four occupants of the Soul suffered significant traumatic injuries, but none appear to be life-threatening at this time.
The driver of the Explorer suffered a broken nose. All injured parties remained at the respective hospitals. Drugs and/or alcohol do not appear to be a factor in the collision.
The Sheriff’s Traffic Accident Reconstruction (STAR) Team responded to assist with the investigation.
