Accidents Kill 4 in North County

Four people lost their lives and one person was seriously injured in two separate traffic accidents along California 76 in North County, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Three people were killed late Friday in a head-on collision between two cars on south Mission Road at California 76 in Bonsall, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Dead at the scene were Larry E. Hamblin, 25, and Francis J. Quillen, 26, both of Fallbrook, and a 49-year old Fallbrook woman, the county coroner’s office said. The woman’s name was not released because relatives had not been notified.

A CHP spokeswoman said a car driven by Quillen, with Hamblin as a passenger, veered across the center line on Mission and struck the woman’s car head-on. Officers called for the Life Flight helicopter, and flight nurses determined all were dead, she said.

The reason for the swerving is not known, she said.

The second accident occurred Saturday evening on California 76 about five miles west of County Route 7 near the San Luis Rey picnic grounds when a westbound car doing a estimated 75 miles an hour swerved out of control on a curve and overturned after hitting a dirt embankment.

The passenger was killed instantly, and the driver was taken to Palomar Hospital in serious condition, the spokeswoman said. Identities were not immediately available.