3 Dead, Including 2 Officers, In Head-On Crash In San Ysidro

SAN DIEGO, CA — Three people, including two San Diego police officers, were killed Friday in a fiery head-on collision caused by a speeding motorist heading the wrong way on Interstate 5 near the U.S.-Mexico border, authorities reported.

The errant driver's Honda Civic reportedly was traveling as fast as 90 mph to the north on the southbound side of the freeway before it smashed into an oncoming Ford sedan occupied by the SDPD personnel near Dairy Mart Road in San Ysidro shortly before 10:30 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

Following the crash, the Honda began burning, the San Diego Fire- Rescue Department reported.

The woman behind the wheel of that vehicle and the officers in the Ford -- one male and one female -- died at the scene, according to the CHP. Their names were not immediately available.

The vehicle the officers were in was city-owned but not a marked police car, municipal spokesman Jose Ysea said. It was unclear if the pair was on duty at the time of the accident.

Authorities shut down the entire southbound side of the interstate at state Route 905 due to the accident. The closure, which was ongoing in the mid- afternoon, was expected to remain in effect "for an extended period of time," Caltrans advised.

— City News Service