CHP: 3 killed as SUV flips on I-15

A blown tire may have caused an SUV rollover crash on Interstate 15 in Bonsall that killed three people and injured two others who were on their way to a funeral in Mexico Friday, authorities said.

A sixth person in the SUV, a 2-year-old girl, was taken to Rady Children’s Hospital as a precaution but was not injured, California Highway Patrol Officer Jim Bettencourt said. She had been properly secured in a car seat, he said.

The child’s 25-year-old father and 22-year-old mother, from Monrovia, were killed, as was a 21-year-old woman from Santa Monica who was not related to them.

The child’s 43-year-old grandmother was injured, as was a 21-year-old man. They were taken to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido with minor to moderate injuries, California Highway Patrol Officer Jim Bettencourt said.

The grandmother is the mother of the 22-year-old woman.

The crash occurred about 12:20 p.m. near the Old Highway 395 overpass between Camino del Rey and Lilac Road.

A sheriff’s deputy driving south behind the black Ford Expedition saw tread from the right rear tire fly off and the driver lose control of the vehicle in the fast lane, Bettencourt said. The SUV hit the center guardrail, flipped into the northbound side and landed upside down.

The group had been traveling to the Tijuana airport to catch a flight to attend the funeral for the father of the 43-year-old woman. They had been unable to get a flight out of Los Angeles, Bettencourt said.

Bettencourt told NBC7 that accident investigators would be taking a close look at the SUV’s tires. He said all four were mismatched.

Neither alcohol nor drugs are believed to be factors in the collision, he said.

Officers and sheriff’s deputies blocked the entire freeway for a short time, then opened all but the fast lanes in both directions for about an hour. All lanes were open by 2:30 p.m.