Two drivers were killed early Wednesday in a head-on crash on southbound Interstate 5, just north of Palomar Street in Chula Vista, the California Highway Patrol said.
CHP said they received calls from multiple people reporting a wrong-way driver traveling at high speeds around 3 a.m. About three minutes after the first 911 call, two vehicles crashed head-on.
CHP said a 67-year-old woman from San Diego driving a Honda Civic entered the southbound lanes 500 feet from the Port of Entry off of Camino del la Plaza and traveled six miles the wrong way before crashing into a Dodge Challenger driven by a 16-year-old from Imperial Beach.
As a result, the Dodge caught fire and became fully engulfed in flames. Both drivers were trapped in their vehicles and died at the scene, CHP said.
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The full identity of the drivers is being withheld pending notification to their families.
A toxicology report is pending from the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Officer to determine if alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash.
All lanes of southbound I-5, north of J Street, were closed for several hours during the investigation, which was ongoing Wednesday.
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The South Bay has had several other wrong-way crashes near the border in recent years, including one in San Ysidro in 2023 and another that killed two San Diego police detectives in 2021. The week of the latter fatal crash saw four deadly wrong-way crashes.
Caltrans has placed flashing LED "Do Not Enter" and "Wrong Way" signs at exits across San Diego County to prevent crashes like this. Red reflective pavement has also been used to catch a driver's attention that they're going the wrong direction. Caltrans said a pilot program of the tools showed a 44-64% reduction in wrong-way incidents.
Anyone with information about the crash can contact San Diego CHP at (858) 293-6000.
No other information was available.
'My heart dropped': Close friends of Chula Vista wrong-way crash victims speak out
NBC 7's Dave Summers spoke with close friends of both accident victims as they wrestle with how such a tragedy could happen.
"I'm very sorry to hear that," Francisco Beltran, the neighbor of the 67-year-old and her closest friend, said.
His sister was also close with the victim.
"I drove by [the scene] this morning because that's my route to work," Nancy Beltran said.
Both of them say their neighbor was receiving radiation treatments for cancer and that she sometimes had moments of forgetfulness.
"She just gets in her car and leaves, but I don't know why," Francisco Beltran said.
"Sometimes, she went south, you know, kind of blank-minded and just take off," Nancy Beltran said.
Whether that was the case Wednesday morning, CHP says the cause has not been determined.
The death of the 16-year-old Mar Vista High School student spread quickly on social media. That's how his close friend from JV football found out.
"When I found out, my heart dropped," Gilbert Solis told NBC 7. "He would always have a smile on that face on the field or on the sideline. He would always have a big white smile on his face ... I'm a goalie for lacrosse, so I am going to save all the shots for him."
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