Pickup Tire Blows on I-5; 1 Dead
One woman died Saturday and four people were injured when a pickup truck heading south on Interstate 5 blew a tire, lost control and flung four people into the northbound lanes, authorities said.
About 11:10 a.m., Guadalupe Villalba, a 29-year-old Huntington Park resident, was driving toward San Diego about three miles south of Basilone Road with four passengers in the bed of his 1979 Ford pickup truck, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Bob McLean.
When his tire went flat, Villalba lost control and hit the center divider cable, ejecting his passengers into the path of northbound traffic.
Rosario Lara, a 47-year-old resident of Mexico, was killed when she was struck by a northbound 1983 Oldsmobile driven by William Sablan, 25, of Camp Pendleton.
Three others who were thrown into traffic but not struck were taken to Mission Hospital with moderate to minor injuries, as was Villalba. Another passenger who was riding in the cab of the truck was uninjured.
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