Crews are responding to a rollover crash in Kearny Mesa.
The incident happened at 5 p.m. Wednesday on the 4600 block of Ruffner Street.
One car was involved.
It is unclear how many people may be injured or what the extent of the injuries may be.
The cause of the crash in unknown.
Police are investigating.
An aspiring rapper who prosecutors say sexually assaulted a teen girl and disappeared from a Texas courtroom surrendered to a bondsman in Los Angeles this weekend, U.S. Marshals confirmed with NBC 7 Wednesday.
Texada told the bondsman he didn't want to surrender to Marshals, but after an NBC7 story aired, he could not show his face anywhere, U.S. Marshals said.
Texada is accused of abducting a 16-year-old girl in October 2013 while she was walking to school. Texas authorities say he took her behind a building and sexually assaulted her before throwing her out of his car.
Once he was taken into custody, the bondsman told him across state lines back to Texas. He is in the state's custody and facing sex assault charges as well as bond violation charges.
While on the run, 27-year-old Calderon Texada has promoted his music on YouTube with lyrics that seem to taunt police, according to prosecutors.
In one video, Texada raps, “I don’t really give a [expletive] about these laws. Try come to get me. Evidently, I didn’t mention how I missed the penitentiary, but I’m not going to tell my business cause of all these [expletive] snitches.”
Authorities believed he was in San Diego, "hopping from hotel to hotel," they told NBC7 on Aug. 19.
“It's pretty clear as day he directly taunts us to come get him. That he knows he's supposed to be on bond and with us. He doesn't care,” said Harris County Assistant District Attorney Daniel Werling.
Wendy Treat waited in her car for five minutes to buy gas today.
She says that's what it takes to save money, but she has her limits.
"Sometimes if it's really, really bad then you just say, fine I don't need it today and I'll do it another day," said Treat.
Wendy buys her gas at the Costco in Chula Vista.
In San Diego, Costco is selling gas for $2.99. That's more than 50 cents cheaper than the county average.
"I would say I come here bout 95% of the time," said Berna Bauer. She says the lines move fast and it's worth the extra savings.
But how can Costco sell gas so much cheaper than other local stations?
"If I were to drop down that much I would be losing money," said Lori Hupp.
Her family owns the Bonita Point 76 station a few blocks from the Chula Vista Costco. On Wednesday, they sold regular for $3.67. That's 68 cents more than Costco.
Does the big box store sell their gas at a loss?
"They have to be," said Hupp. "I don't know how they could get it that cheap?"
But many drivers don't worry about how they are selling it that low; they just want to save money.
"I think it's great," said Cindy Hill.
Do you shop at Costco, or would you prefer to buy gas elsewhere? To join the discussion, visit my Facebook page by clicking here.
Hillary Clinton pledged to run her campaign as usual, in spite of speculation about Vice President Joe Biden joining the race.
Clinton said Biden has a "very difficult decision" to make about the 2016 presidential run. She reiterated that she has "a great deal of admiration and affection" for the vice president, but wants him to make the right choice for him and his family following his son Beau Biden's death earlier this year.
"He has to do what he has to do but I'm just going to continue with my campaign," Clinton said in Iowa Wednesday.
The fiancée of a cameraman who was shot to death during a live television broadcast Wednesday morning released a statement on her Facebook page, expressing her heartbreak while thanking her supporters.
Today, my entire world was flipped upside down. Starting new adventures with my fiance, new jobs, a new city. Getting married, having a family, buying a home. Thats now taken. Im not ok. And I wont be for a long time. But the enormous outpour of love and support from so many of you near and far is so much appreciated. Adam, I will never find a man so happy, selfless, protective, funny, or charming like you. You were the one. You understood me. My soulmate. I will always love you. Please watch over me and keep me strong. Enjoy the endless tech games in your heaven. I love you so much ♡
Melissa Ott was celebrating her last day on the job at WDBJ-TV in Roanoke, Virginia, when her fiancé, Adam Ward, was shot and killed during a live broadcast.
The former NBC10 intern from Gibbstown, New Jersey, was producing the morning news show when Ward and reporter Alison Parker were gunned down by a former station employee. Ott watched the incident unfold from the station’s control room. WDBJ’s General Manager Jeff Marks said she was “devastated.”
Ward, 27, was the cameraman with Parker. They were ambushed and killed while Parker was interviewing a woman on live TV at about 6:45 a.m. The station was on lockdown for hours during a manhunt for the shooter, identified as former WDBJ reporter Vester Flanagan.
The 41-year-old suspect, who went by the on-air name Bryce Williams, shot himself during a police pursuit along a Virginia interstate. He was airlifted to a hospital in Fairfax County where he died.
Ott had arrived to work Wednesday before the sun came up and was greeted with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and balloons. She and Ward were headed to Charlotte, North Carolina, for Ott's new job.
"We were celebrating that," said morning anchor Kimberly McBroom. "Alison had brought in balloons, I had brought in a cake, it was a day of celebration." McBroom tagged Ott in a celebratory Facebook post:
Big shout out and congrats to our awesome WDBJ7 producer, Melissa Ott. Congrats to her on her new job in Charlotte ... we will miss you!!!
Christ Hurst, an anchor for WDBJ-TV who attended Temple University, revealed to Twitter followers Wednesday he and Parker had been dating for 9 months and "were very much in love." The two had also recently moved in together, according to the tweet. "I am numb," he added.
Hurst said he and Parker had just celebrated her 24th birthday and talked about getting married.
Complaints about noise and drunken parties around San Diego State University have reached a new decibel this year as new student orientation begins. On Wednesday, the school promised change.
Over the weekend, the university hosted a party in front of SDSU’s iconic bell tower to welcome freshmen to campus.
But when the party reached capacity, students overflowed into the neighborhood’s streets, according to Susan Hopps-Tatem, who lives in the area.
She took video of the commotion when she was awakened at 1:30 a.m. Sunday, hearing the music’s bass through duel-paned windows half a mile away.
“If it had even gone until midnight, that might be acceptable, but 2 a.m.? Because then you have all these kids amped up and then you’re releasing them out into the neighborhoods where they parked. It’s a nightmare,” said Hopps-Tatum.
She said there was not enough campus police for the thousands of students, and while the school’s hosted party was nonalcoholic, she believes many students were drunk.
Hopps-Tatum is a member of the College Area Community Council, which reports to the San Diego City Council, so she is asking SDSU President Elliot Hirshman and the university to be consistent with their policies.
“Follow the noise ordinance,” she said. “Don’t have an out-of-control party that is OK the weekend before school starts but tell kids, ‘No, you have to shut down by 11.’ You can’t have all the things you tell the kids not to do.”
In a letter, Hopps-Tatum is inviting Hirshman to walk with the community at midnight Friday.
“I think if you see for yourself the very dangerous and out-of-control environment put into motion by your events, you may rethink some safety and supervision elements,” she said.
After fielding calls and emails from neighbors complaining about the party, SDSU said it is responding to each person individually and explaining changes that will be made.
A spokesperson outlined those changes in a statement sent to NBC 7 Wednesday:
“We are working with DJs of future events to reduce bass volume and ensure speakers are pointed away from local neighborhoods to minimize impact. We are also looking at the event lineup to see if there are other adjustments that need to be made to reduce the impact beyond campus boundaries.”
There is no word on whether Hirshman will accept the community’s invitation for Friday.
Water rushing down Bay Ho streets left some residents in the neighborhood concerned, asking why water was being wasted.
After seeing the overflow of water on nearby streets in the middle of a drought, residents contacted NBC7 to voice their concerns, saying a pipe had been gushing water all of Tuesday and part of Wednesday.
The water comes from an area water main that city officials are replacing as part of the Capital Improvements Project, city officials told NBC7.
When crews put in new pipes, they must run water through them to ensure the water is safe to drink, per state and local laws.
To do this, crew must disinfect the pipes and test change while moving water through the pipes. To disinfect the pipes, they super-chlorinate the pipes.
Water going through pipes is then tested to make sure there are no bacteria and that the water does not contain anything that is harmful to people.
It takes several days before testing will show if the water is safe to drink or not. If the water passes, crews put the pipe in service.
If the water fails, they start the process over again.
The water main in Bay Ho is on its third attempt, meaning it failed the safe water test twice before. The reasons it may have failed before are unclear.
During testing, the non-potable water is dumped into the sewer system. Because it is not potable, water officials cannot hand the water out or allow others to collect it.
During past projects, crews have brought in trucks and used the water on nearby golf courses or Mission Bay Park.
For this project, city officials said they decided against using a similar storage tank because in the past, the costs have exceeded the benefits.
The man accused of shooting and killing a reporter and photographer on live TV in Virginia has worked alongside the current news director of a San Diego station.
Vester Flanagan II fatally shot 24-year old reporter Allison Parker and 27-year old photographer, Adam Ward while they were in the middle of an interview Wednesday morning. The woman they were interviewing was also seriously wounded.
Flanagan grew up in Northern California, attending Skyline High School in Oakland before graduating with a degree in radio and film from San Francisco State University in 1995. He went by the name Bryce Williams on air and worked for a handful of TV stations across the country during his bumpy career.
Don Shafer, news director for CW San Diego 6, also worked with Flanagan. He was his boss about 15 years ago at an NBC station in Tallahassee, Florida.
Shafer said Flanagan showed promise at first and had a good on-air personality, but it didn't last.
“He kind of evolved into a difficult guy to work with, to the point he had such conflict going on with the studio crew, for instance, that it almost became a physical thing and the general manager and I, we terminated him from his contract,” Shafer said.
Still, when he heard news of the shooting Wednesday morning, he could hardly believe it.
"I was horrified," he said. "I almost drove off the road because I knew him and I knew him to be a little strange when he worked for me back then. That's why we got rid of him."
Flanagan was fired from the CBS affiliate in Roanoke, Virginia, more than two years ago, and the station's general manager called him an "unhappy man" who developed a reputation of being difficult to work with, leading to his termination.
The suspect expressed his apparent grudge toward former co-workers, including the two killed, on social media.
He also posted video of the attack. His posts were shared more than a thousand times before Facebook and Twitter suspended his accounts.
Dr. Bey-Ling Sha with San Diego State's School of Journalism and Media Studies told NBC 7 in the wake of this crime, we must ask ourselves where we as a society sit in our personal use of social media.
"We have a choice to perpetuate the evil by retweeting footage of the crime or choose not to give it a voice," Sha said.
Social media act as an amplification mechanism, she said, so one little post can cause a large ripple.
A turf war is brewing at a Carmel Valley park as parents fight a plan to replace grass with synthetic turf.
In June, the Carmel Valley Recreation Council and Community Planning Board overwhelmingly approved drought-friendly turf for Ocean Air Park on Fairport Way.
For young Simon Engel, the park is his field of dreams.
“Sometimes I’ll play catch with my dad. Sometimes I’ll have soccer practice,” he said.
But for his mother, Emily Engel, the field's potential future is frightening. Engel, who works as a neurologist, told NBC 7 Wednesday that the turf poses a long-term health risk.
“There has been evidence artificial turf contains lead and other toxic components that have been associated with lymphoma and neurological problems,” she said.
The city of San Diego disputed her claim, issuing this response Wednesday:
"All components of the synthetic turf system shall meet or exceed relevant federal, state and local health requirements. Manufacturers shall be required to fully disclose all materials used in the manufacture of the synthetic turf system and provide complete information on all potentially toxic constituents."
Engel told NBC 7 science does not support the safety of artificial turf. In her online petition, which has been signed by about 180 people, she cites turf health hazards documented by several health organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC notes that as turf ages and weathers, lead is released in dust that can be ingested or inhaled, increasing the risk for harmful exposure.
The San Diego City Council still has to approve the turf plan, possibly this fall. If they do, the turf could be rolled out at Ocean Air and Carmel Valley Park sometime in 2019.
Four firefighters were injured while battling an intense three-alarm fire in a building that houses the offices of Chicago's famed Second City theater company.
At least one other person suffered injuries from the thick black smoke that billowed near Wells Street and North Avenue, according to Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford. All four firefighters were listed in stable condition.
The fire started in a storefront at 1612 N. Wells just south of the theater in Old Town. Adobo Grill restaurant occupies the first floor of the three-story building, while apartments occupy the remaining two floors. At one point the out-of-control flames were shooting through the top of the building's nearly collapsed roof.
Upon further investigation, the Office of Fire Investigation identified an accident in Adobo Grill's first-floor kitchen as the cause of the fire. The flames then quickly traveled upwards through the restaurant's vents.
After trying to fight the flames for more than an hour, crews were still unable to put out the angry blaze and the fire was elevated to a 3-11 alarm.
The Second City theater, which launched the careers of scores of comedians and actors, including John Belushi, Tina Fey and Bill Murray, remained safe as of 2:30 p.m., but their offices were destroyed. All showings for Wednesday evening were canceled, the comedy club announced on Twitter.
As the fire spread to the roof officials worked to keep flames from spreading to nearby buildings, including nearby Piper's Alley mall and the building that houses the Second City theater, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
Piper's Alley and the Second City faculty and training center were evacuated as firefighters worked to put out the blaze, Langford said.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ https://t.co/eERq1BNRNU
— The Second City (@TheSecondCity) August 26, 2015
I've never seen anything like this. Old Town fire. North & Wells. pic.twitter.com/Usq8NAIlnH
— Natasha Liberman (@alacardchicago) August 26, 2015
@CFDMedia @ABC7Chicago @nbcchicago @WGNNews Looks like roof collapsing now. pic.twitter.com/azBDOcNY2H
— Jill McGee Sullivan (@jillmcgee37) August 26, 2015
1612 north wells pic.twitter.com/zOmlT0Z8u5
— Chicago Fire Media (@CFDMedia) August 26, 2015
A new NASA model is showing just how fast sea levels are rising around the world as a result of climate change, NBC News reported.
At a news conference Wednesday, NASA officials described a new computer visualization of sea level change incorporating data collected by satellites since 1992. The data reveals sea levels overall are rising faster than they were 50 years ago — more quickly than expected — and that the speed will likely increase in the future, primarily because of melting ice sheets.
"Sea level rise is one of the most visible signatures of our changing climate, and rising seas have profound impacts on our nation, our economy and all of humanity," said Michael Freilich, director of NASA's Earth Science Division.
Chinese authorities have arrested 12 people in the aftermath of a series of deadly blasts that rocked the port city of Tianjin two weeks ago, killing at least 139 people, state media reported Thursday.
Yu Xuewei, the chairman of the company that owns the warehouse that exploded Aug. 12, Tianjin International Ruihai Logistics Co. Ltd., Vice chairman Dong Shexuan, and three of the company's deputy managers were among those arrested, state media agency Xinhua reported, citing police.
On Wednesday, China's head of work safety, Yang Dongliang, was fired and named as a suspect in a corruption investigation, Xinhua reported.
Black Angus Steakhouse plans an Oct. 5 opening for its new restaurant at Westfield North County mall in Escondido, where it will hire more than 100 people for various positions.
A company statement said job applicants can apply in person at the company’s hiring trailer, located at the construction site at 296 E. Via Rancho Parkway, or visit blackangus.com for links to online application filing and other information.
Officials said the new 7,900-square-foot restaurant will be located near the entrance to JC Penney, on the east side of the Escondido mall.
Headquartered in Los Altos, Black Angus Steakhouse was founded in 1964 and currently operates 45 steakhouses with on-site BullsEye Bars in six states. Its three current local restaurants are in Mission Valley, Chula Vista and El Cajon.
A San Diego County jury was deliberating on Wednesday afternoon whether a nurse should be held criminally liable for leaving her 3-year-old in a hot car while she visited two stores.
Myngan Thi Le, 32, of Escondido is charged with a misdemeanor count of cruelty to a child by endangering her health. Her defense attorney has argued it was a lapse of judgment, not a criminal act.
Le’s trial started on Monday; the jury received the case on Wednesday.
Jurors heard at trial that the mom decided to stop at North County Fair Mall the afternoon of Jan. 14 because she was feeling sick and needed to use the restroom.
Le’s 3-year-old daughter was asleep so the registered nurse decided to leave the girl in the car while she ran inside.
She stopped at the Macys but the bathroom was closed for 15 minutes, her attorney told jurors in opening statements Tuesday. So Le decided to go to the Gymboree store in the meantime before returning to Macys.
She returned to her car 45 minutes later to find police and firefighters, who had smashed the window to free the child from the minivan.
Escondido police said they found Le’s daughter crying and soaked in sweat with red, flushed skin. The defense contends the child was upset, crying and had an elevated heart rate because of all the commotion.
While the temperature that day was 72 degrees, temperatures in the car were “significantly higher,” police said.
If convicted, Le, an obstetrics nurse at Kaiser Permanente, faces six months in jail.
The man who killed a Chula Vista homeowner in an attempted home invasion 14 years ago was sentenced Wednesday thanks in part to a hat left at the crime scene.
Sergio Morales, 54, was beaten and shot several times on Nov. 28, 1999.
A woman knocked on the door of the Morales home on Paseo Burga. When a man tried to force himself inside the home, Morales fought back and was left fatally injured on the front porch.
Ten years later, Joe Mora of Lancaster was convicted for the killing after his DNA was found on a knit cap left at the scene.
Mora's ex-girlfriend told investigators Mora once asked her about DNA evidence while the couple watched a television show on forensic evidence.
When the woman asked Mora if he’d ever killed anyone, she said that he "became very irate, choked her."
On Wednesday, Mora listened as his victim’s widow and daughters described how their family changed forever on that day in 1999.
Cecilia Camarena said she dreamed for years of the moment when she could face her father’s killer.
“As a Christian we have to forgive and if I don’t forgive, I’m not free,” she said. “I won’t let that tie me down. He’s not going to control my life anymore.”
The family's faith in God has sustained them, according to Camarena's sister, Alma Perez. She said it gives them peace that they will see her father again.
They would also like the woman who was with Mora that night to come forward.
“You’ll be set free too,” Camarena said referring to the burden of guilt the woman must be carrying after so many years.
Anyone with information regarding this case can contact investigators at (619) 585-5670.
Mora will spend his life in prison without a chance for parole with an additional 25 years for using a gun during that murder.
The San Diego Black Police Officers Association (SDBPA) is asking school officials to consider changing the name of Robert E. Lee Elementary in Paradise Hills in honor of a fallen officer.
The association wants to rename the school in honor of Archie Buggs, a Vietnam veteran and San Diego police officer, killed in action in 1978.
"To honor him by renaming this school would be a proud testament not just to Archie Buggs, but to all San Diego police officers who put their lives in the line every day," read a letter from Benjamin Kelso, president of the SDBPA, to school board officials.
Robert E. Lee Elementary School, known as Lee Elementary, was named in the late 1950s and serves children in the Paradise Hills community. District officials say documents show Lee's record as an “American soldier and educator” was listed as the reasons his name was chosen for the school.
California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez has been working since June to have the name changed.
The school board is already considering a proposal to rename the school, according to the letter, and Kelso says as far as he knows, their suggestion is the only name on the table.
"Archie’s served the community where the school is located, and his presence is still felt throughout the neighborhood," Kelso said. "He was not just a police officer, he was part of the community."
“Here you have a person from San Diego that has ties to this community, that people can relate to, and people can identify with. And they can point to him and say hey he was from here, and this is why this school was named after him," said Bryan Pendleton of the SDBPOA in a previous interview with NBC7.
Not everyone in the surrounding community would be happy if the school changed its name.
“It's a shame. It's almost like the ISIS, Taliban mentality of wiping out things that are offensive, and yet they don't know the man. They don't know Robert E. Lee,” said Steve Smith of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in a previous interview with NBC7.
The process for changing a school's name can be found on the district's website.
The school serves a diverse student body that, according to the district, is identified as 75 percent Hispanic, six percent Filipino, six percent multi-racial, five percent African American, two percent Caucasian and less than two percent Pacific Islander.
The man accused of killing a television reporter and photographer during a live broadcast in Virginia on Wednesday had worked in the news industry on and off for two decades, including at jobs in the Bay Area and Florida.
Vester Flanagan II, who used the name Bryce Williams professionally, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound following the attack against his former colleagues. Within hours of the shooting, a portrait had emerged of an anchor, reporter and producer who was talented but volatile, and who thought there was too much racism against him and African-Americans.
The Northern California native was described as a disgruntled employee who WDBJ7 General Manager Jeff Marks said had been let go from the station and escorted out by police in 2013 after "many incidents of his anger coming to the fore." Still, one former neighbor from Oakland Hills recalled him being "demure" and "well-spoken."
Authorities say Flanagan opened fire on two former colleagues from Roanoke CBS station WDBJ7 at close range during an interview early Wednesday, killing reporter Alison Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27, and sending a local Chamber of Commerce official to the hospital.
Marks said Flanagan, who was employed at the station from March 2012 to February 2013, was an “unhappy man” who “quickly gathered a reputation somewhat of being difficult to work with.”
"He was sort of looking out for people to say things that he could take offense to," Marks said on his station's broadcast. "And eventually after many incidents of his anger coming to the fore, we dismissed him. And he did not take that well."
Flanagan had also filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint about what he perceived as racism in the workplace. And in 2000, he filed a lawsuit against an NBC affiliate in Tallahassee, Fla., alleging news producers made offensive remarks about blacks. A man who claimed to be Flanagan faxed a 23-page missive to ABC, saying what triggered the "carnage" was the reaction to the racism and the Charleston church shooting.
Flanagan grew up in Oakland and graduated from Skyline High School. He interned at KPIX in San Francisco from 1993 to 1995, and then was hired in November 1996 as a casual freelance production assistant, the television station confirmed.
Former KPIX anchor Barbara Rodgers, who left the station in 2008, issued a statement about what she remembered about Flanagan while working with him in the '90s.
"When Vester worked for KPIX, he was just a young, eager kid out of journalism school and like so many other interns and new employees who came through there in my 30 years at KPIX, he just wanted to be on TV and to do a good job," she wrote.
Flanagan's family released a statement Wednesday offering their "deepest condolences to the families of Alison Parker and Adam Ward."
"Our thoughts and prayers at this time are with the victims' families and the WBDJ7 NEWS family," the statement said. "Words cannot express the hurt that we feel for the victims."
Flanagan graduated from San Francisco State University in 1995 with a degree in radio and TV, the university confirmed. He also worked at PG&E as a customer service representative from 2001 to 2002, the utility confirms.
He went on to work at stations in Texas and Georgia, before landing a job as a weekend anchor and reporter at NBC affiliate WTWC in Tallahassee, Florida, according to a bio published in 2012. He worked as a reporter, anchor and producer for the weekend newscast at a North Carolina station and later joined WDBJ7 in 2012, the bio said.
His LinkedIn profile has now been taken down, as have his Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Don Shafer, who hired Flanagan at WTWC in 1999, described troubling behavior during the suspected gunman's short time in Florida.
“He was a good on-air performer, a pretty good reporter and then things started getting a little strange with him,” Shafer, now news director at XETV-TV in San Diego, said in an interview with his current station. “He threatened to punch people out and was kind of running fairly rough-shot over other people in the newsroom.”
Shafer said Flanagan was terminated from his contract for bizarre behavior in 2000. Soon after, Flanagan sued the station for racial discrimination.
“He was pretty difficult to work with,” Shafer said.
Flanagan appeared to turn to social media with claims of racism after the shooting, airing grievances about his colleagues and referencing a discrimination claim against his latest employer. Jarring first-person video of the attack was posted to the social media accounts, which were quickly suspended.
At least one longtime acquaintance of the suspect, however, said he was shocked by the news and portrayal that emerged. Flanagan's former neighbor Virgil Barker, who lives across the street from where Flanagan grew up in the Oakland Hills, said he was "devastated" to hear about the tragedy on television. He described a young Flanagan as "demure," "personable" and "well spoken."
"It's not like he's a monster," Barker said in an interview with NBC Bay Area. "It's just one of those things where he must have snapped."
Barker said Flanagan's late mother was a school teacher and his dad, who now lives in Vallejo, California, was a salesman and former NFL player. His two sisters were all college-educated and became professionals, Barker said. "He came from a nice home, and had a nice family."
The on-air shooting marked the first time since 2007 that a journalist in the United States had been killed on the job or because of their work, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The last slaying was the death of Oakland Post's Chauncey Bailey that year, as was reported by the Poynter Institute.
NBC Bay Area's John Zuchelli contributed to this report.
A young man accused of driving drunk in a fiery crash that killed his two passengers was charged and arrested at a San Diego hospital Wednesday, the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) confirmed.
The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office named 20-year-old Antony Schoenle as the suspect in the DUI crash that happened on Saturday, Aug. 22, in the 4800 block of Friars Road.
Schoenle suffered severe burns in the collision and has been hospitalized for the past five days at UCSD Medical Center. Officials released his name for the first time Wednesday right before his arraignment.
SDPD officials confirmed Schoenle was arrested at the hospital and charged two counts of felony manslaughter, felony DUI and providing false information.
In a packed hospital room, with the suspect sitting quietly in a bed, prosecutors argued Schoenle is a possible flight risk who has ties to New York and asked Judge Jeffrey Fraser to set his bail at $2 million.
The judge agreed.
According to the San Diego Police Department (SDPD), Schoenle was behind the wheel of a 2000 Dodge Stratus Saturday morning, accompanied by two passengers, Lizzy Garcia and Lupe Acosta, both in their early 20s, and Acosta’s puppy.
Just before 7:30 a.m., Schoenle – suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol – slammed into a curb, drove onto an embankment and struck a large boulder, investigators said.
The car then caught on fire.
Schoenle was able to escape from the flaming wreckage, but his passengers and the dog could not get out. The young women and dog died in the fiery crash, police said.
“Both of these women were burned beyond recognition, actually burned down to the bone in some places,” Deputy District Attorney Steven Schott said at the arraignment.
Schoenle sustained cuts and burns in the collision and was taken to a local hospital. SDPD investigators said he would be charged with DUI following medical treatment.
According to prosecutors, Schoenle got behind the wheel of the Dodge Stratus on Aug. 22 after a 12-hour-long night of partying that included alcohol, marijuana and cocaine use.
Prosecutors argued that Schoenle saved himself with no regard for the lives of his passengers.
“This defendant unbuckled himself and climbed over Miss Garcia, the front passenger, to get out – a woman he referred to in an interview as ‘dead weight,’” Schott continued.
The deputy district attorney said the interview he was referring to was when Schoenle was questioned by police officers immediately after the crash.
No other cars were involved in the deadly suspected DUI collision.
The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) said the flames from the Dodge Stratus spread to some nearby vegetation just off the roadway following the crash.
Firefighters initially responded to the scene for reports of only the brush fire, but when they arrived, they discovered the mangled, scorched wreckage and the victims.
Loved ones said the women killed in the crash were best friends who had attended Oceanside High School and played in the marching band together.
A flash flood warning has been issued by the National Weather Service for parts of Southeastern San Diego County as heavy rain and thunderstorms move into the region.
The warning was issued at 2:53 p.m. Wednesday and is expected to stay in effect until 6 p.m.
Area near Interstate 8 between Boulevard and the Imperial County line will be affected, including Pine Valley, Highway S2 between Canebrake and the Imperial County Line, Mountain Spring, Camp, Jacumba, Tierra Del Sol, Live Oak Springs and La Posta Indian Reservation.
Get an updated forecast for your area by clicking here.
A woman has filed a lawsuit against Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose, claiming he and two friends drugged and gang-raped her.
The unidentified woman, who says she dated Rose from 2011 to 2013, says she was drugged at a Beverly Hills home and later attacked at her apartment.
Rose denied the woman's claims in a statement he released late Thursday.
"I am just focusing on staying healthy and getting ready for the season," he said. "I am not going to comment other than to say - I know the truth, and am confident I will be proven innocent.”
The lawsuit, which was first reported by TMZ Wednesday and made public Thursday, says the incident took place in August of 2013.
Rose’s spokesperson, Lisa Cohen, said on behalf of his legal team that the lawsuit is “nothing more than a desperate attempt to shake down a highly respected and successful athlete" and called the claims "outrageous."
"Two years have passed since Mr. Rose ended the consensual relationship with the plaintiff, and her claims are as meritless now as they were two years ago," she said. "We have complete confidence that the case will be dismissed and that Mr. Rose will be vindicated."
Cohen also claimed this is the third attorney the woman has hired in an attempt to sue Rose.
The Chicago Bulls released a statement on the issue Wednesday.
"We just learned about this matter and do not know all the facts,” the team said. “It would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
Rose’s agent could not immediately be reached for comment.
