CHP releases crash narrative Monday; questions remain about the state of the wreckage between the two impacts
LA MESA — May 4, 2026 — The driver of a pickup truck involved in Saturday morning’s chain-reaction crash on Interstate 8 has died of his injuries, the California Highway Patrol announced Monday.
The driver, described by CHP as a 28-year-old man from El Cajon, was transported to Sharp Memorial Hospital with major injuries after the May 2 crash and was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to a release from the CHP El Cajon Area Office.
The 1:37 a.m. crash on eastbound I-8 west of Fletcher Parkway involved three vehicles. CHP identified the pickup as a 2022 Ford Ranger, the semi as a 2016 Volvo T680 with attached trailer, and the third vehicle as a 2020 Toyota C-HR. The semi was the Edco refuse vehicle reported in our coverage Saturday.
CHP says the driver of the Volvo, a 33-year-old El Cajon man, was uninjured. The driver of the Toyota — a 64-year-old El Cajon man — and his 61-year-old female passenger, also of El Cajon, were transported to Scripps Mercy Hospital with minor injuries.
According to Monday’s release, the Volvo was traveling at approximately 45 mph eastbound when the Ford Ranger struck it from behind. The cause of the rear-end collision is still under investigation, CHP said. The Toyota, which CHP describes as having been traveling at approximately 70 mph, then collided with both wrecked vehicles. CHP says the Toyota driver was unable to avoid the wreckage ahead of him.
The release does not address the state of the combined wreckage between the two impacts.
The most detailed account of the seconds between the two impacts comes from a tow truck operator we reached over the weekend. He told us he had been driving past the scene shortly after the first collision when he saw the second impact unfold in his rearview mirror. The semi and the pickup, in his account, were “completely blacked out” — no lights visible — and stopped in the right travel lane when the Toyota struck. He told us he could not initially pull over and circled back to check in after watching the second collision happen behind him.
Field observations Saturday morning also indicated the Edco semi was disabled in the right travel lane before the first impact occurred, though CHP’s release describes the Volvo as moving at 45 mph at the moment the Ford struck it. The release does not address how or when the semi came to be slowed.
In Monday’s release, CHP El Cajon Capt. Michael Monteagudo focused on speed as a contributing factor. “Excessive speed reduces reaction time and limits your ability to identify hazards ahead,” Monteagudo said, urging drivers to scan the roadway continuously and anticipate changing conditions.
CHP says the investigation is ongoing and it is not yet known whether drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash. Anyone with questions about the investigation is asked to contact CHP Officer Jasmine Lopez at 619-219-6900.
This outlet’s original reporting on the Saturday morning crash, including the on-scene field observations and the tow operator interview, was published May 2.
