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A 67-year-old woman and a 16-year-old young woman, killed when their vehicles collided head-on on Interstate 5 in Chula Vista, were identified Thursday by family and authorities.
Elaine Crawford, 67, was driving a Honda Civic that entered the southbound lanes of I-5 near the San Ysidro Port of Entry off Camino del La Plaza around 3 a.m. Wednesday, the California Highway Patrol said.
Ryder Shoop was from Imperial Beach and attended Mar Vista High School. NBC 7's Dana Williams spoke with his family.
The car traveled six miles in the wrong direction before crashing into a Dodge Challenger driven by Ryder Shoup, 16, a new father from Imperial Beach who attends Mar Vista High School.
Francisco Beltran, Crawford's neighbor and best friend, said she was receiving radiation therapy for cancer and sometimes had moments of forgetfulness.
“Sometimes, she would head south, you know, with kind of a blank mind and just take off,” Francisco Beltran's sister, Nancy, said of her friend.
Whether that was the case Wednesday morning, the CHP says the cause has not been determined.
The death of the 16-year-old Mar Vista High School student spread quickly on social media. That's how he found out about his best friend from JV Football.
“When I found out, my heart dropped,” Gilbert Solis said. “He always had that smile on his face on the field or on the touchline. He always had a big white smile on his face.”
Late Thursday afternoon, the City of Imperial Beach issued the following statement regarding Shoop's death:
“The City of Imperial Beach is deeply saddened to learn of the tragic loss of Ryder Shaub, who was a member of our community and served in the City's Junior Lifeguard Program for many years. His teachers knew him as a great kid and he was well loved. “Ryder was very athletic and competitive and was always smiling. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to Ryder’s family and friends during this difficult time.”
A wrong-way crash in Chula Vista killed the drivers of both vehicles involved. One was a 16-year-old high school student, and the other was a 67-year-old woman. NBC 7's Dave Summers spoke to close friends of both victims on April 10, 2024.
The CHP said they received calls from several people reporting a wrong-way driver. The accident occurred about 3 minutes after the first 911 call. The Dodge caught fire and was completely engulfed in flames. Both drivers were trapped in their cars and died at the scene, the CHP said.
A toxicology report is still pending from the San Diego County Medical Examiner to determine if alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash.
All lanes on southbound I-5, north of J Street, were closed for several hours while the investigation was ongoing Wednesday.
The South Bay has seen several other wrong-way crashes near the border in recent years, including one in San Ysidro in 2023 and another that killed two San Diego police detectives in 2021. The week of the latest fatal crash saw four crashes Deadly in the wrong direction. Breakdown.
Caltrans has installed flashing LED signs saying “No Entry” and “Wrong Way” at exits across San Diego County to prevent such accidents. Red reflective pavement was also used to draw the driver's attention to the fact that he was going in the wrong direction. The pilot program for the tools showed a 44-64% reduction in wrong-way crashes, Caltrans said.
Anyone with information about the incident can contact San Diego CHP at (858) 293-6000.
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