SAN DIEGO — A La Mesa police officer was killed late Monday night while trying to save others on Interstate 8, when another vehicle slammed into the crash scene, killing the officer and one of the drivers he had stopped to help, authorities said.
Capt. R. Williams of the California Highway Patrol’s San Diego Office said the crash happened around 10:30 p.m. on the eastbound lanes over Fairmount Avenue. It began as a rollover collision. The officer, on his way through the area, stopped to render aid — a routine act of service that ended in tragedy when a passing vehicle struck the wreckage and those at the scene.
Emergency crews from CHP, La Mesa PD, and San Diego Fire-Rescue flooded the freeway within minutes. Two or three vehicles were left mangled beyond recognition, debris strewn across the lanes under the flashing lights of patrol cars and ambulances. Despite desperate efforts, both the officer and the driver who had overturned their vehicle died at the scene.
CHP’s Major Accident Investigation Team spent the night documenting the wreckage and gathering evidence. Eastbound lanes of I-8 were closed from I-15 to Mission Gorge Road and are expected to remain shut for several hours.
The officer’s name has not yet been released pending notification of family. CHP officials and law-enforcement colleagues described the scene as heartbreaking — a reminder of how quickly danger can return even to those who rush toward it.
Update: Officer Identified as 25-Year-Old Lauren Craven
On Tuesday morning, the La Mesa Police Department identified the fallen officer as Officer Lauren Craven, 25, who joined the department in February 2024 and served in the Patrol Division.
According to a statement from Lt. Travis Higgins, Officer Craven was eastbound on I-8 near Fairmount Avenue around 10:24 p.m. when she stopped to help two motorists involved in a crash. While assisting them, she was struck by another vehicle. Despite immediate lifesaving efforts by CHP officers, she died at the scene.
“The La Mesa Police Department would like to thank our allied agencies for their unwavering support,” the department said in a prepared statement. “We ask that the La Mesa community keep Officer Craven, her family, and the La Mesa Police Department in their thoughts and prayers.”
The California Highway Patrol is handling the investigation, and no additional details about the other drivers have been released.
