Authorities Tuesday publicly identified a La Mesa couple who were killed this week in a chain-reaction nighttime traffic accident on Interstate 8 near the Grossmont Center mall.
La Mesa residents James Allina, 79, and his 77-year-old wife, Rosalyn, were seated inside their stationary 2004 Toyota sedan with its lights off shortly before 7:30 p.m. Monday when a 2016 Dodge SUV rear-ended the apparently broken-down car on the eastbound side of the freeway west of Fletcher Parkway in La Mesa, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's office. The Allinas' car was in the No. 3 lane of the four-lane freeway when it was hit, officials said.
Following the impact, a 2017 Kia sedan driven by a 63-year-old woman from El Cajon struck the SUV, and the Allinas' sedan was sent careening across the traffic lanes, the agency reported.
James died at the scene of the accident, despite the efforts of witnesses and paramedics who tried to revive him and his wife. An ambulance crew took Rosalyn to Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, where she was pronounced dead.
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It was unclear why the couple's vehicle had stopped on the freeway, according to the medical examiner.
Riding inside the Dodge was a 34-year-old San Diego woman and 4-year-old boy, who were both taken to Sharp Grossmont Hospital as a precaution; the woman driving the Kia had minor injuries, according to the California Highway Patrol.
