Coronado Bridge

A seven-vehicle accident on the Coronado Bridge during rush-hour Wednesday afternoon blocked traffic on the span for nearly 1 1/2 hours and left two persons seriously injured, the California Highway Patrol said. The accident occurred shortly after 4 p.m. when an car traveling east apparently had a flat tire, causing the it to strike a retaining wall and swerve across the westbound lanes.

A 28-year-old man Wednesday was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison for a bizarre incident on New Year's Eve 2007 in which he led Oceanside police on a high-speed chase down Interstate 5 and then dove off the Coronado Bridge with a police dog biting his arm. Cory Byron survived the 200-foot fall but the police dog, Stryker, was killed. The dog's handler had unleashed it after Byron stopped on the bridge but refused to surrender. He was sentenced for drunk driving, assault, evading arrest and animal cruelty.

After weeks of withstanding high winds, the giant yellow bow attached to the Coronado Bridge to honor the men and women returning from the Persian Gulf War has begun to look tattered and worn. The same people who worked arduously to hang the bow in early April are now working on ways to improve its condition. Lois Silva, personnel director at Western Lumber Co.

A 27-year-old Vista man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges stemming from a New Year's Eve incident in which he allegedly grabbed a police dog and jumped off the Coronado bridge to avoid arrest for drunk driving. Cory Byron was being pursued on Interstate 5 by Oceanside police when he stopped on the bridge. A police dog, named Stryker, was sent to subdue him, but Byron grabbed the dog and jumped off the bridge, officials said. The 200-foot fall killed the dog. Byron suffered a collapsed lung and remains at UC San Diego Medical Center, where the arraignment was held.

Two people were killed Monday afternoon when their automobiles slammed into each other head-on on the Coronado Bridge, the California Highway Patrol reported. A car heading west on the bridge hit the right-side wall twice, struck a small truck traveling the same direction, then veered across the center line and struck another car head-on, a CHP spokeswoman said. Both drivers died at the scene, she said. No identities had been released Monday night.

Work on the long-awaited television traffic-monitoring system on the Coronado Bridge began this week with the laying of conduits for the highly specialized system, state transportation officials said. Despite technical concerns and problems with a bidder, the system is expected to be completed in June, they said.

A state-of-the-art traffic monitoring system, using television surveillance cameras and electronic warning signs, may be installed next year along the Coronado Bridge and its approaches. The $870,000 system, first of its kind in the San Diego area, could be installed by summer if the California Transportation Commission approves it Thursday.

Residents, tourists and engineering professionals have long admired the Coronado Bridge's majestic arch over San Diego Bay and the grace with which the soaring structure swoops back down onto Coronado peninsula. Now, however, the 11,000-foot bridge, once cited as the nation's most beautiful by the American Institute of Steel Construction, is being viewed as a marvel for reasons other than its appearance.

Run, sweat, get a T-shirt. The 10-kilometer ritual is probably repeated more often in San Diego than any other city in the country. Weekends often see more than 10,000 runners compete in as many as three major races. Few have been as popular as the Leukemia Society Coronado Bridge run, the first to allow unfettered crossing of the scenic expanse connecting the peninsula city with San Diego. But, after 11 consecutive years, the race has been canceled.

A giant yellow bow welcoming servicemen and women will be hung Friday morning from the center of the Coronado Bridge, closing one lane of westbound traffic, Caltrans officials said. The right-hand lane of traffic will be closed until the bow is hung and anchored down to the bridge, said Steve Saville, a spokesman for the California Department of Transportation.

A man being chased by police survived a jump off the Coronado Bridge on Monday night, but the police dog that jumped after him died, officers said. The man, who was suspected of driving under the influence, stopped his car on the bridge just after 7 p.m., ran to the edge and jumped, said California Highway Patrol spokesman Larry Landeros. "As the man was running to jump off the bridge, the dog was in pursuit and probably didn't really realize where it was headed," he said. Officers recovered both the man and the dog's body from the water and took the man to UC San Diego Medical Center, Landeros said.

A trolley driver had a gun put to her head by an ex-boyfriend who led police on a freeway chase Sunday before he was caught, authorities said. Police arrested Jayson August, 49, of Spring Valley, for investigation of carjacking, assault and kidnapping. Officers stopped the trolley, which had no passengers on board, after a 90-minute chase by throwing spike strips in front of it. A police dog bit August and police arrested him, officers said. The driver of the trolley was not hurt.

Given their first chance to react to a specific terrorist threat after weeks of vague warnings, many California motorists on Friday shrugged off the prospect of attacks on some of the state's most high-profile bridges. Some drivers admitted they were anxious, a day after Gov. Gray Davis disclosed a "credible" terrorist threat against several major spans, including the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro and the Coronado Bridge in San Diego.

In what promises to be the longest case ever of lane closure on the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge, Caltrans plans to shut down as many as three lanes at a time once a major resurfacing project begins shortly after Christmas. Contractors are scheduled to begin Dec. 28--a Monday--on at least three months of work to resurface part of the bridge and then install an unusual movable center barrier.

So near and yet so far. From the beach near his Coronado Island home, Joseph Ditler can actually see his office--the Berkeley, a turn-of-the-century ferry moored at San Diego's Embarcadero that serves as headquarters of the city's Maritime Museum. "For two years, I was frustrated as heck," says Ditler, 41, development director of the museum. "All that stands between me and my work is half a mile of water. But I have to fight traffic across Coronado Bridge and up I-5."

The Assembly approved a bill Tuesday giving local governments in San Diego the option to continue the toll on the San Diego-Coronado Bridge beyond its current 1995 expiration date. The lower chamber voted 54-19 to approve a bill by Sen. Lucy Killea (I-San Diego) taking any decision about extending the $1-per-car toll away from the California Transportation Commission and giving it to the San Diego Assn. of Governments, or Sandag.

History is a fickle beast. Almost always open to conjecture, it rarely passes up the chance to avoid controversy--especially where legends are concerned. History can be kind--or incredibly, indelibly mean. It can give credit to true believers, and deservers. Or break the reputation of those who merit a far better kiss of fate. San Diego is no different from any city as far as lore is concerned. Who gets credit for the legends of "America's Finest City"?

The $1 toll on the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge will remain in place until at least mid-1995, the California Transportation Commission decided Thursday, ending months of speculation about the future of the fee. In a meeting in San Luis Obispo, the commission voted 5-0 to retain the toll until June, 1995, and use the funds for improvements on the bridge and along Coronado's congested roadways, said Mariana Mejia, a Caltrans spokeswoman. The commission sets state transportation policy.

A driver who tried to make a U-turn on the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge Saturday afternoon caused a multiple-car accident that sent four people to area hospitals and closed the bridge to traffic for 1 1/2 hours. The bridge was closed at its Interstate 5 and Coronado entrances from 3 p.m. to 4:35 p.m., a Caltrans spokesman said. Traffic was detoured south to Imperial Beach while the injured were airlifted to hospitals and three autos were towed from the mid-span collision site.

Run, sweat, get a T-shirt. The 10-kilometer ritual is probably repeated more often in San Diego than any other city in the country. Weekends often see more than 10,000 runners compete in as many as three major races. Few have been as popular as the Leukemia Society Coronado Bridge run, the first to allow unfettered crossing of the scenic expanse connecting the peninsula city with San Diego. But, after 11 consecutive years, the race has been canceled.