Father, son die in separate freeway crashes within four hours

A teenage boy and his father from Alpine were killed within hours Thursday in separate freeway collisions on Interstate 8 in eastern San Diego County, officials said.

The 16-year-old boy was a passenger in a Toyota pickup truck driven by his mother, Natali Sambhi, 55, that went off the freeway and rolled after possibly suffering a blown tire. The boy, whose name was not released, was thrown from the vehicle and killed instantly.

About four hours later, the boy's father, Sumil Sambhi, 48, was killed in a head-on collision while driving the wrong way on I-8, officials said.

The California Highway Patrol is investigating the collision as a possible suicide. Sambhi was reportedly distraught over the death of his son and angrily blamed his wife for the earlier accident.

A father and his 19-year-old son from Imperial County, who were in the Mercury Grand Marquis struck by Sumil Sambhi's Toyota Scion, were airlifted to local hospitals with injuries described as moderate.

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Photo: Toyota truck driven by Natalie Sambhi. Credit: KSWB-TV Channel 5.