SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — The California Highway Patrol reported a fatality early Friday morning after a white Honda CR-V crashed and became trapped underneath a jack-knifed Amazon semi-truck that was blocking traffic on north I-15 at the I-8 interchange. All lanes are now open on northbound I-15 at I-8, Caltrans says.
Authorities said a 76-year-old motorist was killed when her SUV crashed into a big rig that had jackknifed and slid sideways to a halt across a rain-slick freeway on the southern edge of Mission Valley.
The San Diego woman's northbound Honda CR-V struck the stalled tractor- trailer on SR-15 just south of I-8 about 2:15 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.
Paramedics took the motorist to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead, CHP public affairs Officer Salvador Castro said. Her name was withheld pending family notification.
The trucker, a 27-year-old San Bernardino County man, was unhurt, Castro said.
A SigAlert was issued shortly after the accident. Traffic on I-15 was diverted to I-8 until 6 a.m.
It is unknown if alcohol and/or drugs were a factor in the collision, which is pending a toxicology report through the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office.
San Diego County will be under inclement weather Friday morning and lasting into Sunday morning, with rain, wind and snow expected throughout the region, prompting the National Weather Service to post a winter weather advisory.
According to the NWS, a pair of low pressure systems will track over Southern California, preceded by a cold front, generating a mixed bag of atmospheric activity.
The winter weather advisory is in effect until 2 a.m. Sunday, applying to locations above 4,500 feet initially.
"A line of moderate showers is likely to accompany the front, along with a chance of a few thunderstorms," according to an NWS statement. "The front will sweep rapidly inland before sun-up, but cold, unstable conditions will persist over SoCal, continuing scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms through about midday Friday."