5-Year-Old Boy Killed, 8 Others Injured in Fiery I-5 Collision

A 5-year-old boy was killed and eight other people were injured in a fiery crash on northbound Interstate 5 during the evening rush hour Tuesday.

The accident occurred at 5:25 p.m. near the Sorrento Valley Road exit, just south of the juncture with Interstate 805 and in an area where traffic routinely comes to a standstill during the evening commute. The driver of a car containing five people apparently failed to notice that traffic had stopped and rammed into a van at 55 m.p.h., a California Highway Patrol spokeswoman said.

The fuel tank of the van, which was carrying a Laguna Hills family of four, ignited in the collision, and the family was engulfed in flames, said Debbie Russell of the CHP.

The van’s driver, Steven Dunham, reportedly passed his 3-year-old daughter out the window to safety, while screaming that he had another child inside. Dunham, 34; his wife, Cheryl, 31, and their daughter, Amanda, all escaped the burning van. But 5-year-old Andrew Steven Dunham was trapped and burned to death, according to Deputy Coroner Robert Engel.

The other family members were taken to UC San Diego Medical Center, where a nursing supervisor said both parents had suffered second- and third-degree burns over 30% of their bodies. Both were listed in critical but stable condition. Information on the condition of the surviving child was unavailable.

The driver of the car that collided with the Dunhams’ van, Ali Awad of Hawthorne, was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital with a broken knee and other major injuries, according to Russell. He was listed in good condition Tuesday night. Awad’s 8-year-old nephew, Mazen Awad, was taken to Children’s Hospital. No information was available on his condition.

The other three passengers, all of whom are believed to be related, were taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla. They asked that their names not be released, said a hospital spokeswoman. A 37-year-old woman was in good condition Tuesday night with facial injuries; a 19-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl were treated for bruises and released, the spokeswoman said.

The driver of a third car involved in the crash, Miguel Arango of Vista, was not injured.