National City
A 21-year-old San Diego man died early Thursday morning after his car hit the center divider and another car while on Interstate 805 near National City, the California Highway Patrol said.
Jerry Barber, a Navy corpsman at the Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital, was driving north on I-805 at between 90 and 100 m.p.h. when he swerved to avoid hitting another car, a CHP spokeswoman said. Barber’s car hit the center divider, crossed back across the freeway and hit a car driven by Viengsith Phimmasouk of San Diego, which spun several times, according to the CHP. Barber’s car then hit a tree, rolled over several times on an embankment and landed on its top.
Three passengers in Barber’s car, all 19 years old, were injured: Nora Nemkin of Santa Ana was taken to Mercy Hospital with moderate injuries; Stephanie Hamblin of Riverbank was taken to UC San Diego Medical Center with major injuries; Carlton Baros of Chula Vista received minor injuries and was not hospitalized. Phimmasouk received only minor injuries.
The accident occurred about 1:35 a.m., and Barber died at 2:32 a.m. at Mercy Hospital, the coroner’s office said.
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