A 28-year-old Alpine man was arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired after crashing his pickup into a tow truck parked on the shoulder of state Route 125 in La Mesa, killing his passenger, authorities said Monday.
The crash happened shortly before 12:45 a.m. Sunday on northbound SR-125, south of Interstate 8, California Highway Patrol Officer Travis Garrow said.
CHP believes Erik Anderson was behind the wheel of a 2006 Ford F-150 that slammed into the left rear of a 2016 Dodge Ram flatbed tow truck that was parked on the east shoulder, with the tow truck operator out of the truck helping a disabled motorist, Garrow said.
The 37-year-old woman in the front passenger seat of the Ford suffered blunt force trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene, the officer said. She has been identified as Nicole Buquet.
Anderson, the tow truck operator and the other motorist were uninjured, Garrow said.
Anderson was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI and booked into the San Diego County Jail, he said.
