RAMONA, Calif. (KGTV) - A crash on State Route 78 in the Ramona area left a child dead and sent several others to the hospital Monday.
The crash involving a Dodge Ram truck and Toyota Camry was reported shortly after 11 a.m. on SR-78 near W. Haverford Road, according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP officials said the Camry was traveling westbound and the truck was heading eastbound when the collision occurred. Witnesses told the CHP the Camry drifted off the road and overcorrected, crossing the yellow lines into the path of the oncoming pickup truck.
CHP officials said four people -- a man and woman in the front, two young boys in the back -- were inside the Camry. One of the boys was pronounced dead at the scene, the CHP confirmed.
Investigators said the boys were wearing seat belts worn around their waists but not the shoulder strap, which likely contributed to one boy's death.
The three other Camry occupants and the 77-year-old male driver of the truck were transported to area hospitals with injuries of unknown severity.
The crash forced the hours-long closure of SR-78 in both directions at W. Haverford Road, which later reopened around 4 p.m.
