UTC-area collisions kill one, injure five

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Motorists running red lights Wednesday caused unrelated
traffic accidents that killed one person and injured five others near Westfield
UTC mall, tangling traffic in the busy area, authorities reported.

The more serious of the two wrecks occurred shortly before 10:30 a.m.,
when the driver of a westbound Toyota Prius failed to yield for a stoplight at
Genesee Avenue and La Jolla Village Drive in University City, according to San
Diego police.

The hybrid-electric car rammed into an Audi sedan and a Volkswagen Golf,
then hit a Nissan truck before all four vehicles skidded to a halt across the
traffic lanes.

The driver of the Volkswagen died at the scene of the pileup despite
medics' attempts to resuscitate him. His female passenger suffered serious
injuries, while the motorists in the Prius and Audi had minor injuries, SDPD
Officer Frank Cali said. The driver of the pickup was unhurt.

The accident occurred less than 90 minutes after a 63-year-old woman ran
a red light on Genesee Avenue near Interstate 5, crashing her southbound 1990
Toyota Corolla into a 2011 GMC exiting a driveway at Scripps Memorial Hospital
La Jolla, police reported.

The collision left the driver of the Toyota with serious leg trauma and
the 41-year-old woman behind the wheel of the other car with superficial
injuries, Sgt. Ray Battrick said.

Officers closed traffic lanes and issued a congestion alert for both
locations while emergency crews tended to the injured and investigators
documented evidence.

Intoxication was not believed to be a factor in either accident, police
said.