U.S. Marine killed in crash with wrong-way driver in Carlsbad

CARLSBAD (CNS) - Two motorists were killed and a passenger suffered serious injuries this morning when a pickup truck heading the wrong way on Interstate 5 in Carlsbad crashed head-on into a sedan following a brief police pursuit in Oceanside.

Oceanside police stopped the truck's driver for a minor traffic violation at Carmelo and Monterey drives at 12:12 a.m., Oceanside police

spokesman Tom Bussey said.

When officers got out of their patrol car, the driver took off and got on southbound I-5, Bussey said. The pursuit continued for a few minutes, but was called off when the motorist started going the wrong way on northbound I-5, he said.

The crash happened shortly after 12:20 a.m. when the Ford F-150 slammed into a 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix sedan just south of Las Flores Drive, said California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Latulippe.

The 42-year-old San Diego man at the wheel of the truck and the Pontiac's driver, a 19-year-old Utah man, were pronounced dead at the scene, Latulippe said. Their names were withheld pending family notification, but the younger man was a U.S. Marine, NBC San Diego reported.

A 35-year-old San Diego man who was a passenger in the pickup was taken to a hospital for treatment of multiple broken bones and complaints of chest and neck pain, the officer said. His name was also withheld.

All northbound lanes of I-5 near Las Flores Drive were shut down, triggering a SigAlert. The lanes were reopened around 5:45 a.m.