Spring Valley Man Killed, 7 Injured in Three-Car Crash

A Spring Valley man was killed and seven other people were hurt, two critically, in a three-car crash Friday night near Spring Valley, California Highway Patrol officers said.

Brian S. Booth, 24, was killed in the crash about 7 p.m. Friday at South Bay Parkway and Swap Meet Road, officers said. He was killed on impact, coroner’s deputies said.

Two passengers in Booth’s Volkswagen Beetle were reported in critical condition Saturday at Sharp Memorial Hospital, a nursing supervisor said.

Mark D. Boston, 28, of Spring Valley, suffered internal and head injuries as well as a broken leg, the supervisor said. Hospital officials declined to release the identity of the other man, pending notification of his relatives, but said he appeared to be in his mid-20s and had severe head injuries, internal injuries and a broken left leg.

Booth was driving northeast “at a high rate of speed� on the parkway when he ran a red light at Swap Meet Road and crashed head-on into a station wagon being driven by Donna M. Jones, 39, of Spring Valley, pushing her car backward 30 to 40 feet, officers said.

Jones’ knee was hurt in the crash. She was in good condition Saturday at UC San Diego Medical Center, a nursing supervisor said.

After Booth smashed into Jones’ car, his car careened into another auto, which was driven by Bryan Gilbreath Sr., 28, of Spring Valley, officers said. Gilbreath suffered only minor injuries, officers said.

Two passengers in Gilbreath’s car, his wife, Lorie, 27, and son, Bryan Jr., 8 months, were treated and released Friday from Grossmont Hospital, a nursing supervisor said.

There was some confusion about the seventh person hurt in the crash, with CHP officers and coroner’s deputies offering conflicting reports about which car he may have been in. The man remained unidentified late Saturday, and while the CHP reported that the man was taken to UCSD with “major injuries,� a nursing supervisor at the hospital said that could not be confirmed without the man’s name.