4 Die in Wet Holiday Traffic; Sky to Clear

Downpours and drizzle during the early part of the Thanksgiving weekend made for hazardous driving conditions, contributing to scores of accidents and four deaths in the past two days, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said.

Though sunshine broke through early-morning clouds Saturday and seasonal temperatures from 65 to 70 degrees are expected today, many areas of the county received more than an inch of rain the day before, said forecaster Frank Perdue of the National Weather Service.

Forecasters say the miserable holiday weather has moved east and call for sunshine and clear skies today and Monday. Evening temperatures are expected to drop to 40-50 degrees along the coast and 35-45 inland, with some areas facing overnight frost.

Heavy rains subsided by late Friday afternoon, but showers that evening caused havoc on the roads.

During an evening drizzle Friday, two people were killed and another was injured when a car went off Montezuma Valley Road in Borrego Springs and hurtled 800 feet to the bottom of a canyon, CHP spokesman John Clark said.

Robert A. Rainwater, 35, of Escondido apparently lost control of his car as it approached a left-hand curve on Montezuma Valley Road about 6 p.m., Clark said. The car ran off the road, ejected all three passengers and rolled about 800 feet down the side of a canyon, Clark said.

Rainwater and Stanley W. Kerr, 24, of Citrus Heights were killed. The third passenger, Jayne Donli, 17, also of Citrus Heights, was sent to Palomar Memorial Hospital, the CHP said.

In another accident Friday, a 64-year-old San Diego woman was killed when the car she was in hit the Interstate 15 center divider in Miramar after swerving to avoid a stalled pickup truck, Clark said.

Ignacia Pablan died in the accident, which occurred south of the Carroll Canyon Road exit on northbound I-15 about 5:30 p.m., Clark said.

The car, driven by Leticia Cross, 41, of San Diego apparently went out of control when the driver tried to avoid a pickup truck that for unknown reasons was blocking the lanes.

Cross and two other passengers, Irma DeLapina, 39, and a 1-year-old girl, Idell DeLapina, both of San Diego, were taken to nearby hospitals.

Cross fractured a bone in her shoulder but was in good condition, a Sharp Memorial Hospital spokeswoman said Saturday. Irma DeLapina was treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital. He her daughter Idell, who suffered head injuries, was reported in good condition at Children’s Hospital.

Early Saturday morning, a 38-year-old man died when his car crashed into a tree on North Lake Wohlford Road in Valley Center, Clark said.

Alfred Efparza, of Valley Center was northbound about 12:25 a.m. on North Lake Wohlford Road when he apparently lost control of his car and crossed into the southbound lanes before striking the tree, Clark said. The accident occurred just south of Woods Valley Road.