Driver Killed in El Camino Real Crash Identified

Two women killed in a single-vehicle crash on El Camino Real in Oceanside Thursday afternoon have now been identified by the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s office.

Michelle Reni Cafagna, 20, of Escondido and Rizelle Cabana Alamares, 24, were killed after a car Cafagna was driving veered across three lanes of traffic and smashed sideways into a palm tree at about 1 p.m., the medical examiner’s office reported.

The car impacted on the passenger’s side killing Alamares before she could be given medical attention. Cafagna was airlifted to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla where she was pronounced dead about an hour later.

The tree was on a median near 2125 El Camino Real. The medical examiner's report stated the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed and crossed three lanes of traffic. Skid marks could be seen leading up to the vehicle. The weather was clear at the time of the accident and the road appeared dry. 

The cause of the crash was under investigation, Oceanside Police Lt. Leonard Mata said.

According to an online resume, Alamares had worked as a Kirby sales representative and earned an associates degree in business from El Camino College, Torrance, and a Web Graphics and Multimedia Certificate from Southern California Regional Occupational Center.

Cafagna’s Facebook profile showed she worked as a sales representative at AT&T and graduated from Poway’s Abraxas High School in 2009.

By Friday afternoon, the tree had been removed and — on the spot the car was — mourners created a memorial with items that included flowers, candles and a stuffed animal.

— City News Service and Camp Pendleton Local Editor Daniel Woolfolk contributed to this report.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated several times since the incident. For notifications of real time updates, follow Camp Pendleton Patch on Twitter and Facebook. 

Patch readers may upload photos of the victims by clicking on "Upload Photos and Videos" below the main image. Patch invites loved ones of the two young ladies to share thoughts and anecdotes for future articles by emailing daniel.woolfolk@patch.com or commenting below.