A small plane has crashed on a Southern California freeway, hitting a car, killing one person and injuring five others.

Witnesses told dispatchers that the plane landed on a vehicle on Interstate 15, about 80km north of San Diego. The nose of the white and blue plane was crumpled into the rear of a small black sedan on the shoulder of the freeway.

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One person in the car was killed, and three others from the vehicle were taken to a hospital, California Highway Patrol Officer Tony Polizzi said. Two occupants in the plane also were transported for treatment.

Video: the rescue operation

A truck driver was one of the first on the scene and helped drag car occupants to safety.

“It was pretty nerve-wracking seeing the plane come right over the top of me and hit the car,” he said.

“People needed help. There were four people in the car. The driver’s side passenger was real bad. The woman was talking when I pulled her out of the plane. I said, ‘we’ve got to get you out of here. It’s aviation fuel.'”

With AAP