Eight injured in head-on collision on State Route 76

PAUMA VALLEY - Eight people were hospitalized today, four with major injuries and four with minor injuries, following a two-vehicle head-on collision in the Pauma Valley area, officials said.

The collision was reported around 8 a.m. on state Route 76 about a half mile west of Casino Pauma in Pauma Valley, an unincorporated community in North County, Cal Fire Capt. Kendal Bortisser said.

Five adults and three children were transported to Palomar Medical Center Escondido, four with major injuries and four with minor injuries, Bortisser said.

No details about the victims were immediately available.

The crash prompted California Highway Patrol officers to close eastbound and westbound SR-76 between Pauma Reservation Road and Cole Grade Road at 8:25 a.m., but traffic was moving again in both directions an hour later, CHP

Officer Tommy Doerr said.

No vehicle descriptions were immediately available. CHP officers were investigating the collision.