Driver involved in fatal hit-and-run still sought

Law enforcement officials – as of Oct. 30 – were still searching for the driver of red Mustang who struck and killed a female pedestrian in Fallbrook the evening of Friday, Oct. 19, and left the scene.

"The issue is we don't have much to go on," said California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Latulippe. "Our guys have been looking through the area, trying to maybe catch lightning in a bottle so to speak. They've been looking at some video from the area to see if we can get any more information."

Latulippe said authorities are looking for a red Mustang, 1995 or newer, with front end damage and vertically-oriented tail lights.

The woman, identified by the San Diego Medical Examiner as Lori Barker, was walking in the eastbound lane of Alvarado Street near Alvarado Court just before 9 p.m. when she was hit, according to Latulippe. The car did not stop and continued heading east after the crash.

Barker was transported by fire personnel to Palomar Medical Center where she was pronounced dead. Alvarado Street was closed near the crash scene until about midnight.

Anyone with an information about the incident is asked to call (858) 637-3800.

The CHP was also investigating a crash on Interstate 15 near Rainbow that killed two people the night of Saturday, Oct. 27. The accident occurred when a possibly-impaired driver headed the wrong way (north in the southbound lanes) on I-15, causing a crash that killed both him and the driver of the car he struck.

The wrong-way driver was identified as a 23-year-old Lake Elsinore man, according to Latulippe. The victim in the other car was a 20-year-old woman from Murrieta.

Latulippe said dispatchers received a call just after 11 p.m. reporting that a white Hyundai Elantra had entered I-15 at Deer Springs Road, traveling north in the southbound lanes. A CHP unit started a traffic break near state Route 76 in an attempt to stop the Hyundai but the driver did not stop for the break and continued heading the wrong way at a high speed.

A second CHP unit was responding to assist when dispatchers received a call at 11:17 p.m. reporting that the Hyundai had crashed into a gray Honda Civic that had been traveling in the correct direction on southbound I-15 near Rainbow Valley Boulevard. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The man was taken to Palomar Medical Center, where he died.

"We're trying to figure out why he was going the wrong way and why he didn't stop at the traffic break," said Latulippe. "Honestly, with one like that, I don't know if we'll ever know for sure (why the driver did what he did)."

Latulippe said there were "some signs and signals" that the driver was impaired.

"That's still our suspicion but we're waiting for toxicology to confirm that," said Latulippe.