[LA MESA Sat May 2, 1:37 a.m.] Three vehicles collided in a chain-reaction crash on Interstate 8 in La Mesa early Saturday morning, sending the driver of a pickup truck to the hospital in critical condition and injuring at least two others.
The crash happened around 1:37 a.m. on eastbound I-8 between 70th Street and Fletcher Parkway when an Edco refuse semi-truck had become disabled in the right lane. A white pickup traveling at freeway speeds struck the back of the semi. Several minutes later, a red car traveling in the same lane hit both the pickup and the semi, pushing the pickup forward and to the left.
A tow operator who was driving past prior to the second crash, reported that the semi and the pickup were both completely dark — no lights visible — at the moment of the second collision. He said he saw the red car strike the wreckage in his rearview mirror.
The driver of the Edco semi was uninjured and was on scene speaking with CHP officers.
Heartland Fire and San Diego Fire-Rescue crews responded shortly before 1:40 a.m. Once on scene and seeing the second vehicle and the extent of the damage, upgraded to a rescue call for extrication. According to radio reports, the driver of the white pickup was unconscious and in critical condition when crews reached him. There was reportedly a total of three patients that were transported in all, including two with moderate injuries that were transported to area hospitals.
California Highway Patrol stopped all lanes for the rescue. Officers reported heavy oil contamination across the roadway and called for additional tow trucks and oil-absorbent material as well as CalTrans for cleanup.
The cause of the semi’s disablement has not been released. CHP is investigating.
