VISTA: An 8-year-old boy died yesterday after the vehicle he was riding in ran off state Route 78 and rolled over.
The county Medical Examiner's Office confirmed that Daniel Alguera of Escondido was killed in a crash reported about 4:20 p.m. He is survived by his parents.
The vehicle, driven by his grandmother, was traveling west on Route 78 when one of its tires blew out. The vehicle left the freeway and overturned, ending up near West Vista Way and Emerald Drive in Vista, authorities said. At least four people were treated for injuries.
–M.C.
Injured mountain biker airlifted to ambulance
SAN MARCOS: A sheriff's helicopter transported a 34-year-old mountain biker who suffered a suspected spinal cord injury in an accident on a mountain north of Palomar College yesterday morning, authorities said.
The accident happened about 9:30 a.m. in a rugged area of the mountain inaccessible to an ambulance. The mountain is known as “P” mountain because it is marked with a painted letter for Palomar College.
San Marcos Fire Department personnel requested that ASTREA, the Sheriff's Department's aerial unit, fly the victim off the mountain, pilot Deputy Scott Bligh said.
The man was secured to a backboard and flown to paramedics waiting at the north end of Las Posas Road in San Marcos, Bligh said. He was then taken by ambulance to a hospital trauma unit.
A San Marcos Fire Department dispatcher said the injured man was with a friend who called 911 when the accident occurred. A GPS device on the cell phone aided ASTREA in finding the two, both from San Marcos. The other mountain biker was not injured.
–S.S.
FBI seeks public's help identifying bank robber
SAN DIEGO: The FBI is asking for the public's help in identifying a bank robber dubbed “The Scuzzy Bandit,” thought to be responsible for three robberies in San Diego County in a three-week stretch.
He is believed to have held up a Bank of America branch on Balboa Avenue in San Diego on June 20; a Washington Mutual branch on Poway Road in San Diego on June 24; and a Bank of America on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard in San Diego on Wednesday, FBI spokesman Darrell Foxworth said.
The robber is described as white or Latino in his late 20s, about 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 160 to 170 pounds. He has dark hair about 3 inches long, with 2-inch-long sideburns.
He was last seen dressed in a black warm-up jacket with light-colored stripes, skater-style shoes with white laces, a Hurley ball cap with a flat bill and a black book bag.
The FBI asks anyone with information on these robberies to call (858) 565-1255 or San Diego Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-TIPS (8477).
–G.G.
Carlsbad resident tips off police to vehicle burglary
CARLSBAD: An alert resident helped police arrest a man suspected of multiple vehicle burglaries.
About 6 a.m. yesterday, officers were sent to Whitesail Street and Beacon Bay Drive, near Poinsettia Park, to respond to a 911 call about a vehicle burglary in progress, Carlsbad police Lt. Matt Magro said.
The caller, who said someone had just broken into a neighbor's vehicle, kept watching until police arrived.
Officers arrested a 24-year-old man and found property they said belonged to six victims from the same neighborhood. The man had been living in a motel in Carlsbad.
He was arrested on multiple counts of vehicle burglary and theft, Magro said.
–S.S.
Staff writers Michele Clock, Greg Gross and Susan Shroder contributed to this report.
