LEUCADIA, Calif. -- Three drivers suspected of drunken driving were jailed after they crashed into one another on Interstate 5 in Leucadia, causing major injuries to one of the drivers and a passenger, the California Highway Patrol said Saturday.

"This is an example of how dangerous things are out there," CHP Lt. Paul Golonski said in a prepared statement. "Here we have three impaired drivers colliding with each other.

"This could have been much worse and we can only hope that the motoring public will learn from this incident that drinking and driving is never worth the risk," he declared.

The chain-reaction crash occurred in northbound lanes north of Leucadia Boulevard about 2 a.m. Friday.

Todd C. Winter, 31, of Carlsbad, driving a 2005 Ford Focus, crashed into the back of a large truck for an unknown reason, CHP officer Eric Newbury said. The Focus spun into the concrete center divider, then back into traffic lanes.

Newbury said Winter ran away, abandoning his passenger. But he was spotted and detained by sheriff's deputies who were heading to the crash scene to help.

While the passenger, Sean Elder, was still in the car, it was struck on the right side by a 2002 Honda Accord driven by Lance D. Encinas, 38, of Oceanside, Newbury said. He said Encinas didn't notice the Ford Focus blocking his lane.

Seconds later, James F. Jonas, 49, of Oceanside, driving a 1970 Chevrolet Corvette, also failed to notice the wreckage ahead and plowed into the Accord, Newbury said.

Winter, Encinas and Jonas were all arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, Newbury said. Encinas and Elder suffered major injuries in the crashes and were taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital, La Jolla. Winter and Jonas were booked into the Vista Jail, but later bailed out, a jail clerk said today.

Newbury said the truck driver left the crash site before officers arrived.