SANTEE MAN KILLED IN HEAD-ON CRASH ON HIGHWAY 52; SPRING VALLEY WOMAN AND CHILDREN INJURED BY SUSPECTED DRUNK DRIVER

March 18, 2013 (Santee) –  Matthew T. Leonardo, 30, of Santee has been identified by the Medical Examiner as the driver killed last night in a head-on collision on State Route 52 near Santo Road at 9:08 p.m..  The crash also seriously injured a Spring Valley woman, Alisa Cunningham, and her three children in the vehicle struck by Leonardo.

According to California Highway Patrol, he was driving a 2012 Ford Focus when he entered the freeway heading the wrong way, traveling west in the eastbound lane at a reported speed of 65-70 mph.

He struck a 2001 Dodge Caravan driven by a Spring Valley woman, 45.  She was transported to a hospital along with three juvenile passengers, all with major injuries. Leonardo was declared dead the scene of the fatal St. Patrick’s Day collision.

“During the extrication of the driver from the Ford, he had the distinct odor of an alcoholic beverage,” said CHP Officer Jake Sanchez.  “The level of intoxication of this driver is pending a toxicology test from the medical examiner.”

ECM news partner 10News reports that the wife and three children of Cathedral Catholic High School boys varsity basketball coach Will Cunningham were in the minivan.Cunningham's wife, Alisa, and their 17-year-old daughter Taylor are at Sharp Memorial Hospital. Both are in critical condition. Taylor, winner of the MIss San DIegoi Outstanding Teen 2013, is in intensive care. The couple's other two children, Jayden and Logan, are at Rady Children's Hospital, alsoin critical condition.

ECM columnist Rama Beerfas was in a vehicle stopped in the traffic jam on the freeway.  "We were lucky that emergency responders didn't cause another one - some came to the scene using the right shoulder, while others were driving in the far left lane," she wrote. "Those of us who were stopped had to move, first to the right, then to the left, then to the right again and we were packed in pretty well with not much room to maneuver. Shouldn't one of the tasks the police take care of in situations like this is to clear one lane of traffice (right or left) and then make sure all emergency responders use that lane so as to avoid this type of situation?"

The accident is the second deadly wrong-way crash on Highway 52 in the past several months, leading some to question where better signage or lighting might prevent such tragedies in the future.



The collision remains under investigation. If you have information, please contact Officer Jake Sanchez at the San Diego CHP office at (619) 220-5492.