A major stretch of southbound State Route 163 shut down early Friday due to a multi-car crash that left four people dead and two drivers arrested on suspicion of DUI, officials said.
The three-car collision was reported on SR-163 near Interstate 805 at around 1:30 a.m. When the California Highway Patrol arrived, they found several people lying on the freeway along with two Toyota Prii and a Toyota Tacoma flipped over on its roof.
Two people were reported dead at the scene and two other people were taken to a local hospital where they were later pronounced dead, officials said. Those four were all inside a Prius that ended up on the left shoulder, according to CHP Sgt. Melissa Andrews. It is unclear if they were wearing seatbelts.
The names of the victims have not been released, but investigators say three of the four people who died are all men in the mid to late 20s. Officials are still working to identify the fourth person.
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The driver of the Tacoma, which overturned, was arrested on suspicion of DUI. The truck had no passengers and no injuries were reported, Sgt. Andrews said.
The other Prius ended up on the right shoulder, beyond the truck. The driver of that car was also arrested on suspicion of DUI. The Prius had no passengers and no injuries were reported, Sgt. Andrews said.
CHP Officer Sal Castro said one of the arrested drivers is a 32-year-old man, while the other is a 25-year-old man.
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"You say the message every holiday, every time we get in front of the camera, don’t drink and drive, but people still do it. I mean, there’s absolutely no excuse for it, and it affects a lot of people," Castro said.
A SigAlert was issued and all southbound lanes of SR-163 were closed for more than 11 hours, impacting the morning rush hour.
During those hours, the major accident investigation team measured and collected evidence as traffic was rerouted around the crash site.
All lanes were back open by 1:30 p.m., Caltrans San Diego said.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation. Officials say they are working to figure out if there were two separate crashes.
No other information was available.
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