A man died after his vehicle crashed into a tree in Mira Mesa, causing it to go up in flames.
The crash occurred around 4 p.m. on Mercy and Black Mountain roads near Interstate 15.
According to San Diego police (SDPD), the driver, a man in his 50s, died at the scene of the crash. He was the only person inside the vehicle at the time.
A witness told SDPD that the driver was speeding, swerving in and out of lanes nearly hitting two other cars as he traveled westbound on Mercy Road.
The driver lost control and hit a tree in the median and the car immediately burst into flames, according to the witness.
The speed limit on westbound Mercy Road is 50 miles per hour.
Westbound Mercy Road from Interstate 15 was shut down to traffic for more than four hours.
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Neighbors told NBC 7 they would like to see more patrols, calling it a dangerous stretch of road.
"It's a race track, and the police for some reason don't want to control it. I think primarily because they really can't pull over people who are speeding," explained neighbor Robert Ball. "They could write 10 tickets a day, easy. It's incredible."
The road has very little room for cars to pull over on the side.
Investigators with SDPD told NBC 7, speed is a contributing factor in the crash.
But it's too early to tell if drugs or alcohol also played a role.
