VALLEY CENTER: A sheriff's deputy was one of two people injured in a head-on crash yesterday on Valley Center Road south of state Route 76 on the Rincon Indian Reservation, closing the road in both directions for nearly five hours, authorities said.

Sheriff's Deputy Anthony Radicia was traveling north on Valley Center Road near Gulch Road about 8:50 a.m. in a marked sheriff's Ford Expedition when a vehicle trying to turn into a driveway crossed the double yellow lines and collided head-on with the SUV, said sheriff's Lt. Julie Sutton.

Radicia was able to get out of his severely damaged Expedition and help the other driver, whose vehicle also had major damage, Sutton said.

Radicia and the other driver, a woman from Los Angeles, were taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries, Sutton said.

The woman was unfamiliar with the area and had earlier been visiting the nearby Harrah's Rincon casino, Sutton said.

The California Highway Patrol closed the road until about 1:30 p.m. while officers investigated the crash.

Both drivers were alone in their vehicles, Sutton said. –S.S.