SAN DIEGO — A woman was run over by her own sport-utility vehicle after the parking brake failed, officials said.

The 25-year-old woman was hospitalized with a lacerated liver, punctured lung and several broken ribs, said San Diego police Sgt. Max Verduzco.

“She should survive this,” Verduzco said. “She’s young.”

The woman’s name was not released.

She had set the parking brake before exiting the 2005 Lexus SUV, but left the vehicle in neutral, Verduzco said.

The vehicle, which was parked on a slight incline, began rolling backward. The woman tried to jump into the driver’s seat to stop it, but slipped and fell under the wheels, Verduzco said.

Verduzco said traffic investigators were working to determine what caused the brake to fail./AP

SoCal woman allegedly bilked Medicare out of $9 million

LOS ANGELES — The operator of a home health care business allegedly billed Medicare for $9 million worth of treatments that weren’t provided, federal prosecutors said.

Lualhati Colgrove, 58, operated United Life Home Health Inc., a Rancho Palos Verdes-based agency that provided nursing care to its patients in their homes, according to a May 9 federal grand jury indictment.

Prosecutors said Colgrove, a registered nurse, employed illegal immigrants.

Colgrove, Albert Ulit, 47, of Lomita and Merlinda Soreno, 58, who is in the United States illegally, were charged with multiple counts of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Colgrove, who was also charged with accepting illegal payments and unlawfully employing illegal immigrants, was arrested May 14 and released on bail. Ulit and Soreno have eluded authorities.

During a three-year period ending December 2004, United Life allegedly sent unlicensed nurses to patient homes, charged for services never provided and billed the government for visits never made, the indictment said.

United Life falsified claim forms to make it appear patients were confined to their homes and needed skilled nursing care./AP

Man killed in gunpowder explosion

OCEANSIDE — A 21-year-old man was killed in a backyard gunpowder explosion Thursday afternoon, police said.

The victim, Nedrick Aaron Walker, was trying to make a cannon with several friends, said Oceanside police Lt. Rick Sing.

Walker had cut the ends off shotgun shells and was dumping powder into a metal pipe when the explosion occurred. Sing said he didn’t know what caused the powder to combust.

“All indications are it was an accident,” he said.

The blast went off in Walker’s face and he died at the scene from head wounds, according to the county Medical Examiner’s office.

None of the other men were injured.

Police briefly evacuated at least a dozen homes nearby after neighbors said they heard the blast and felt windows rattle.

Luke Henika, 10, said he was playing on his computer when he heard a boom. He said he first thought it had come from the Marine base at nearby Camp Pendleton./AP

  ———

Information from: The San Diego Union-Tribune, http://www.signonsandiego.com