Poway Crash Leaves 1 Dead

Sheriff’s authorities said Saturday that they are investigating the possibility that alcohol or drug use may have been a factor in a head-on, two-car crash in Poway late Friday that left one person dead and four others injured.

Authorities suspect that Richard Ray Laninovich, 27, of Poway, the driver of the car that caused the accident, was using drugs or alcohol, according to a sheriff’s account released Saturday. Laninovich was dead at the scene.

The other four victims--including three passengers in Laninovich’s vehicle and the driver of the other car--remain hospitalized Saturday with a variety of injuries. All are expected to recover.

The incident occurred at 11:30 p.m. Friday as Laninovich was driving his sedan south on Old Coach Road in Poway, authorities said. About a half-mile north of Espola Road, deputies said, Laninovich’s car crossed over the center line and crashed head-on into an oncoming vehicle driven by Barbara Malone, 54, of San Diego.

Malone, who suffered severe leg wounds, was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition Saturday. Also stable at Sharp was Albert Russell, 22, a Poway resident who was a passenger in Laninovich’s car. Two of the dead man’s other companions, Michael Reel, 18, and Nick Cornell, 20, were in stable condition at Palomar Medical Center.