Rain Leaves Cars Slippin’, Slidin’ in S.D. County

Light rain was a contributing factor in a rash of traffic accidents throughout the county Wednesday, including an 11-car pileup on Interstate 15 in Mission Valley. There were no major injuries in the morning rush-hour accident, but the backup caused by it was several miles long.

Weather forecasters said a deep marine cloud layer should bring continued drizzle to the county throughout today but that skies should begin clearing by Friday.

Although only slightly more than one-tenth of an inch of rain was measured at Lindbergh Field by 4 p.m., the rain caused slippery streets.

Nowhere was that more apparent than on I-15. At about 6:15 a.m., a motorist traveling south on the freeway near the interchange with I-8 tried to make a lane change, then attempted to get back in her original lane, causing the driver behind her to hit his brakes, California Highway Patrol Officer Jim Anderson said.

A motorcycle behind that car stopped, but was bumped by another car. All of the drivers were out of their cars and the motorcyclist was off his cycle when another car arrived and swerved to avoid them, Anderson said.

That car hit the center divider and bounced off, smashing into the motorcycle and sending it underneath one of the autos already stopped.

Other cars were also “slipping and sliding into each other,” Anderson said. In all, 11 vehicles were involved.

The accident caused a backup of several miles that lasted about an hour.

Among the other accidents was one on I-5, just south of California 78, about 10:40 a.m. Two speeding cars spun out of control, CHP Officer Jerry Bohrer said.

Within minutes of that accident, a dump truck jackknifed in the northbound lanes of I-5, also near California 78. There were no injuries, and Bohrer said traffic resumed its normal flow within 20 minutes of the accidents.

The National Weather Service said the sun should come out in the late afternoon today. West and southwest winds in the deserts and mountains should begin to die down about the same time, said Richard Stitt, a weather service forecaster.

He said winds in the deserts and mountains may reach 35 m.p.h. today.

During the 24 hours that ended at 4 p.m. Wednesday, weather service figures show, .11 of an inch of rain fell at Lindbergh Field. Alpine was the wettest spot in the county with .60 of an inch from the storm. Other rainfall figures included .25 of an inch in Del Mar, .14 in El Cajon and .15 in Escondido.

The .11 of an inch at Lindbergh brings the rainfall total for the weather season that started July 1 to 5.68, nearly 2.5 inches below the 8.11 that is normal for the date.