California Highway Patrol

Record rain wreaks rare results, road rubs

Rain, rain, and more rain roared through San Diego County like a freight train with no brakes this week and contrary to past storm trajectories refused to depart without causing mayhem and consternation. As if coronavirus weren’t bad enough, at least the record April rain made sheltering in place a more attractive alternative to wandering around outside. Riffing off T.S. Eliot’s “April is the cruellest…


Truck-trailer fire closes much of Highway 78 near Nordahl Road early Tuesday

Highway 78 wasn’t a fun place to be during the early Tuesday morning commute. That’s when a tractor-trailer rig containing building supplies burst into flames sending up a big old smoke column on the eastbound right shoulder just past Nordahl Road on the Escondido side. The incident took place shortly before 6:30 a.m., just as commuter traffic was snarling, according to the California Highway Patrol….


People behaving badly: Weekend edition

Man shot in each foot during 20-person brawl Hot foot doesn’t even begin to describe the scene just before midnight Sunday when a man got shot once in his left foot and once in his right during a late-night free-for-all. An estimated 20 people mixed it up around Rock Springs Road near West Lincoln Avenue, Escondido police Lt. Al Owens said. A suspect identified as…


Wrong-way Highway 78 embankment flip near Metcalf kills driver on New Year’s Day

Just 10 days after a deadly Highway 78 crash killed four people; a wrong-way, single-vehicle crash on a nearby stretch of Highway 78 sometime before 3 p.m. killed another man, according to California Highway Patrol officers. The wrong-way 2003 Chevrolet Suburban headed west on eastbound Highway 78, presumably from Broadway, plunged off the road near Metcalf Street killing the driver, CHP officers said. Nobody called…


Bates Nut Farm pumpkin patch locked down by CHP due to missing girl report

Bates Nut Farm pumpkin patch was put in virtual lockdown from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday as reports of a missing 11-year-old girl caused state troopers to search all vehicles leaving the scene.   California Highway Patrol officers also went from car to car in the crowded parking areas looking for the girl. Social media accounts said drivers waited up to 30 minutes to…