A small plane crashed Saturday morning on Interstate 15 near Fallbrook, slamming into a car stopped on the side of the road and killing a woman in the vehicle, authorities said.
Five others, including the pilot and his passenger, were injured in the crash on a stretch of Interstate 15 that has been the scene of several plane landings.
Witnesses said the single-engine plane appeared to be having problems before it banked west and came down, California Highway Patrol Officer Chris Parent said. One man said he didn't hear the plane's engine as it flew overhead.
The Lancair IV landed on its belly and skidded about 250 feet before striking the rear of a black Nissan Altima sedan that was stopped on the shoulder of the road. The driver of the car had pulled over to synchronize the Bluetooth device on his phone, Parent said.
The impact crumpled the back of the car, killing a 38-year-old San Diego woman in the back seat and injuring three others in the vehicle. The county Medical Examiner's Office identified the woman as Antoinette Frances Isbelle.
"The plane went completely into the trunk and pushed the rear bumper almost into the rear passenger seat," said John Buchanan, spokesman for the North County Fire Protection District.
Pilot Dennis Hogge, 62, of Jamul, and his passenger, who wasn't immediately named, suffered major injuries, Parent said. The driver suffered moderate injuries, and his two passengers were expected to survive their injuries.
Matt Nokes, a former major league catcher and graduate of Patrick Henry High School in San Diego, said he once owned the plane involved in the fatal crash, and he had safely landed it on the same freeway 16 years ago.
Nokes told The Associated Press at the time that it was the plane's second flight and the engine quit because of a problem with the oil filter.
He guided the $500,000 plane to a smooth landing on the busy freeway and taxied off the road. No one was injured.
Nokes told The Associated Press on Saturday that he had sold the plane years ago, but he knew the current owner who crashed on I-15.
The freeway is no stranger to unusual landings. Parent said he's aware of three other planes that have come down on that stretch of freeway about 50 miles north of San Diego in the past decade.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said.
The crash caused major backups throughout the day on the freeway.
