Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Watch Live

Quality of Life

Fatal Crash Snarls Traffic On Interstate 5 North

A fatal collision on Interstate 5 North in Del Mar, June 24, 2015.
10News
A fatal collision on Interstate 5 North in Del Mar, June 24, 2015.

An 85-year-old motorist died Wednesday in a predawn chain-reaction accident involving four vehicles on Interstate 5 near Del Mar that snarled traffic for hours at the height of the morning commute.

The La Mesa woman's 1995 Nissan Sentra rolled to a stop for unknown reasons in the far right-hand northbound lane of the freeway near Via de la Valle and was rear-ended by a 2008 Honda Accord shortly before 5 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

Moments later, a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado and a 2015 Honda Accord plowed into the one or both of the other two vehicles, CHP public-affairs Officer Jake Sanchez said.

Advertisement

The driver of the Sentra died at the scene. Her name was withheld pending family notification.

The 40-year-old San Diego man behind the wheel of the older Accord was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla with apparently minor injuries.

The occupants of the other involved vehicles were unharmed, Sanchez said.

The accident left all but one northbound lane closed for a time, leading to gridlock as far south as the I-805 merge. All lanes were open again in the area by shortly before 8 a.m., but a traffic alert remained in effect for another 90 minutes due to residual congestion.

The North County Focus newsletter is your bi-weekly guide to all the news coming from North County, plus a handpicked selection of events and trivia tidbits.