Crash on North County freeway sends two to hospital

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – A head-on collision on a North County highway sent both drivers to the hospital with serious injuries early Monday and tied up the road for more than an hour, authorities said.

The crash on state Route 76 near Gird Road occurred about 6:50 a.m., according to California Highway Patrol Officer Jim Bettencourt.

A 54-year-old Murrieta was woman driving a 1986 Ford Ranger that drifted from a westbound lane into an eastbound lane, he said.

The Ford collided head-on with an eastbound 2001 Nissan Frontier driven by a 64-year-old Dana Point man, Bettencourt said, adding that both drivers were freed from the wreckage.

Paramedics took the drivers to Palomar Medical Center. The woman suffered multiple facial fractures, and the man had broken legs, the sergeant said.

The cause of the crash was under investigation. Bettencourt said neither drugs nor alcohol appeared to be factor.

The highway was closed for about an hour and 20 minutes.