1 dead in three-vehicle crash at Elfin Forest near Escondido

One person in the sedan died in a collision on Harmony Grove Road Friday morning. Firefighters tended to three other people who were injured. The CHP had the road blocked for several hours.

By Pauline Repard

Jan. 31, 2020 3:19 PM PT

A three-vehicle collision left one person dead and four injured near Elfin Forest Preserve southeast of Escondido on Friday, Jan. 31, the California Highway Patrol said.

One of the people involved reported being in a Toyota SUV that overturned after a white car came around a corner and hit another car head-on, according to the CHP’s online incident page.

The 7:40 a.m. collisions left wreckage that blocked Harmony Grove Road in both directions near Wild Willow Hollow Road.

Paramedics, firefighters and CHP officers headed to the crash scene and shortly after 8 a.m. confirmed that the driver of a sedan was dead. The driver had been partly ejected from the car, a Rancho Santa Fe Fire Department spokeswoman said.

She said four people in the overturned SUV suffered minor injuries and declined medical treatment. A third vehicle was struck but its driver was not injured.

Around 11 a.m., the CHP put out word that the road would remain closed for about another two hours.

— Pauline Repard is a reporter for The San Diego Union-Tribune