EAST COUNTY
About 200 people who live on or near Mount Helix gathered Tuesday night to voice their opposition to the placement of at least one sexually violent predator in a nearby home.
Authorities announced last week the proposed placement of 78-year-old Douglas Badger at the home on Horizon Hills Drive off Avocado Boulevard.
Neighbors also fear authorities will soon propose housing a second sexually violent predator at the location based on what looks to be a draft press release discovered on the San Diego County District Attorney’s website. It lists the home at 10957 Horizon Hills Drive as the proposed placement location for 63-year-old Merle Wade Wakefield.
JAMUL
A 69-year-old suspected drunken driver plowed through traffic cones in Jamul and struck a worker directing traffic at a freeway construction zone Wednesday night, authorities said.
The 27-year-old man later died from his injuries.
The worker was directing traffic on west state Route 94 east of Cougar Canyon Drive shortly after 9:50 p.m. when the motorist drove his 1996 Lincoln Town Car through the cones and hit him. The worker was on foot and working with a crew painting stripes on the roadway near Steele Canyon High School, California Highway Patrol Officer Travis Garrow said.
The man suffered major injuries and was rushed to the hospital, where he died. He worked for a company that is a subcontractor to Caltrans, Garrow said. His name was not released. He was a San Diego resident.