Deadly crash involving tow truck in Valley Center

VALLEY CENTER (KUSI) – Three men were killed, another man suffered minor injuries and one person fled the scene after a pickup crashed head-on into a tow truck Tuesday morning in Valley Center, authorities said.

The collision occurred shortly before 6:15 a.m. on Valley Center Road between North Lake Wohlford Road and Paradise Creek Lane, California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Latulippe said.

The tow truck was heading northbound on Valley Center Road when a Ford F-150 traveling southbound on Valley Center Road crossed into the northbound lanes for unknown reasons and struck the tow truck head-on, Latulippe said.

Three men in the pickup were pronounced dead at the scene, the officer said. The driver’s brother, who was sitting in the front passenger seat of the pickup, ran away following the crash, Latulippe said. The brother was picked up by a good samaritan and was dropped off at a family members house in Escondido. He was not injured and no charges are pending.

The tow truck driver was taken to Palomar Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries, Latulippe said.

The northbound and southbound lanes of Valley Center Road were closed at North Lake Wohlford Road, triggering a SigAlert at 6:25 a.m. The roadway was expected to reopen around 11:30 a.m., according to the CHP.