SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Three people, including two San Diego police officers, were killed today 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, one of the two involved cars began burning, the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department reported.
The wrong-way driver and the police personnel died at the scene. Their names were not immediately available.
The vehicle the officers were in was not a marked cruiser, city spokesman Jose Ysea said. It was unclear if they were 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 early afternoon, was expected to remain in effect "for an extended period of time," Caltrans advised.