SANTEE: Two people died in a
head-on crash early yesterday when a speeding car going the wrong
way on state Route 52 slammed into a pickup driven by an off-duty
Border Patrol agent, officials said.
The crash occurred just after
2:30 a.m. in the westbound lanes of the freeway at Mast Boulevard.
Before the crash, several motorists called 911 to report a Toyota
Prius heading east, going at least 100 mph in the fast lane, Highway
Patrol Officer Rob Sanchez said. The 2007 Prius collided with a 1995
Chevrolet S-10 pickup.
The county Medical Examiner's Office identified the Prius driver
as Shayne Rae Leatherwood, 22, of Poway.
The Border Patrol agent was identified as Neil Wilkie Hepburn,
35, a married father of two children, ages 7 and 2. He lived with
his family in San Diego. Hepburn, a nine-year veteran, had been
driving home after completing a shift as a supervisory agent of the
canine program at the Campo Border Patrol station.
Hepburn had previously served on the San Diego sector's
distinguished horse patrol unit and as an emergency medical
technician, officials said.
The CHP said it was not yet known if alcohol was a factor in the
crash. –K.K. & M.A.
Passenger gives birth by C-section after
collision
SAN DIEGO: A woman was in critical condition last night from
traffic-accident injuries that prompted an emergency
Caesarean-section delivery of her baby, San Diego police said.
The baby is fine, Sgt. Rich Nemetz said. The mother, 21, suffered
major injuries, Nemetz said. She was the passenger in a Chevrolet
Aveo.
The collision happened about 4:30 p.m. on Woodman and Tooma
streets in the Bay Terraces neighborhood.
The Aveo was going south on Woodman when a Jeep Liberty driven by
a girl, 17, pulled from a stop sign into the Aveo's path, police
said.
The driver of the Jeep had only minor injuries. The driver of the
Aveo, 25, was not seriously injured.
Traffic officers were investigating. –D.E.G.
Businessman receives marijuana with computer
CHULA VISTA: Authorities are investigating the delivery of 20
pounds of marijuana stashed in a computer case by UPS to a Chula
Vista businessman.
The man, 52, received the delivery Wednesday and turned it over
to Chula Vista police, who were working with UPS to find out who
sent the pot and why it was shipped to him.
When the man opened the box containing a computer and tower case,
he smelled an odor and found a package.
“I thought it was a bomb at first,” he said. Then he cut into the
package.
“There was a solid chunk of marijuana, hard as a brick.”
The man called police, then took the pot and box to Chula Vista
police headquarters. A police spokesman confirmed an investigation
was under way. The man also called UPS to report what happened.
The marijuana, about 20 pounds, was valued at about $20,000.
In January, a man was arrested in Orlando, Fla., after he was
caught shipping 100 pounds of marijuana via UPS.
In February 2006, a man was arrested for receiving marijuana by
UPS.
Lynnette McIntire, a spokeswoman for UPS at its Atlanta
headquarters, said UPS was working with police. –J.H.
Drunken man assaults utility workers on
street
MISSION BEACH: An intoxicated man attacked employees of San Diego
Gas & Electric Co. who were working on utility poles on Mission
Boulevard near Mission Bay Drive early yesterday.
Police said he struck the workers with a hard cast he was
wearing. Police arrived and took the man into custody on suspicion
of assault with a deadly weapon. –G.G.
Felony charges filed against slaying suspect
DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO: The District Attorney's Office has filed
felony charges against a man suspected of fatally shooting his
estranged wife Tuesday night before he was shot and wounded by
police.
Curtis Allen Brown, 41, was scheduled to be arraigned on murder
and other charges in his hospital room yesterday, but the
proceedings were suspended when defense lawyers questioned his
mental competency.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Frederick Maguire set an Oct. 10
hearing to determine whether Brown is competent.
Brown could face execution if convicted of first-degree murder
and special-circumstance allegations of murder during a kidnapping
and murder during a burglary.
Prosecutors have not decided whether to seek the death penalty.
Brown is accused of killing his wife, Linda Diane Brown, 41,
shortly before 9 p.m. in an apartment complex on Bear River Row in
the Bay Terraces neighborhood.
Authorities believe Brown forced his wife from her home at
gunpoint. Brown was wounded in the upper torso during a
confrontation with police.–D.L.
Staff writers Karen Kucher, Mark Arner, David E.
Graham, Joe Hughes, Greg Gross and Dana Littlefield contributed to
this report.
