By SDCN Staff
Vista, CA–A driver and his female passenger were hospitalized after a fiery vehicle collision Sunday night in downtown Vista.
The incident occurred just after 8:30 p.m. when a 23-year-old man driving a Scion was heading eastbound on Vista Village Drive with a 20-year-old female passenger. As the Scion came to the intersection of Main Street and Vista Village, it collided with a Ford Mustang, Sergeant Eric Cottrell of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
As a result of the impact, the Scion ran off the road and crashed into a tree and concrete wall. The Scion’s engine caught fire, trapping both occupants inside the car. An active duty U.S. Marine and U.S. Navy Corpsman witnessed the collision’s aftermath and quickly grabbed fire extinguishers from nearby establishments and put out the flames.
Vista Fire Department personnel were able to rescue the driver and passenger from the wreckage. The driver was airlifted to the hospital with major but non-life-threatening injuries. His passenger was transported by ambulance to a hospital for treatment of her injuries. The occupants of the Mustang were not injured.
The cause of the collision is under investigation by the Vista Sheriff’s Station’s Traffic Unit.
Alcohol or drugs are not believed to be a factor, authorities said.
