Fatal Pedestrian Crash – I-805 NB at University (Dec 7, ~2:47 a.m.)
I was close when the call came out—a possible person down on the 805N near University. I turned around and expected fire or CHP to be there first. They weren’t. The freeway was dark, with K-rail on the right leaving no shoulder. As I approached slowly with high beams and my rear amber bar flashing, I realized a person had been killed. I won’t describe it, but it was the worst I’ve seen.
There was no shoulder, nowhere safe to stop, but I pulled past the scene anyway and tried to warn approaching drivers. Even with flashing lights and a slow-moving car ahead, people barely adjusted. It’s shocking how little drivers pay attention at night.
An ambulance eventually arrived and stopped in front of me; a fire engine blocked the right lane behind us, finally giving some protection. An SDPD officer tried to run a traffic break, but cars kept passing him on both sides until more units fully stopped the freeway. CHP took over afterward. They’ve all seen horrors on the roadway; they can tell you their war stories.
Word at the scene—unconfirmed—is that the victim may have been unhoused. The driver who first hit them didn’t stay. Several other drivers pulled off at University, shaken after hitting the person secondarily or witnessing the aftermath. I talked with a few: a truck driver, a family, others who simply didn’t know what to do with what they’d seen.
I’m a photographer, but tonight I didn’t shoot anything.
Please pay attention when you drive—especially at night. You can’t see as far as you think, and someone’s life may depend on the choices you make at 80 mph.
To the driver who fled: you know what happened. Do the right thing.
