Police Pursuit on I-5 ends in deadly crash

OCEANSIDE (KUSI) – Two motorists were killed and another person was injured Tuesday morning when a pickup truck heading the wrong way on Interstate 5 in Carlsbad crashed head-on into a sedan following a short pursuit in Oceanside.

The incident began shortly after 12:10 a.m. when Oceanside police attempted to pull over a pickup truck for a traffic violation on Carmelo Drive near Harbor Drive, Oceanside police Sgt. Lonny Harper said.

The pickup driver fled and entered southbound Interstate 5 and officers pursued, but the pursuit was called off a short time later, Harper said.

The crash was reported shortly after 12:20 a.m. when a pickup truck heading southbound on northbound I-5 slammed into a sedan near Las Flores Drive, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The crash killed the driver of the truck, a 42-year-old man from San Diego, and the driver of the sedan, a 19-year-old man from Utah who had a military service member identification card, according to reports.

A third person, a 35-year-old from San Diego who was a passenger in the truck, was taken to a hospital for treatment of unknown injuries, the station reported.

A SigAlert was issued shutting down all northbound lanes on I-5 near Las Flores Drive. The lanes were reopened by 6 a.m.