26-year-old killed in three-vehicle freeway crash in Lemon Grove area

A 26-year-old man was killed in a three-vehicle freeway crash near Lemon Grove early Sunday, and California Highway Patrol officers are trying to find a person who left the scene.

Investigators don’t know if the missing person was the driver or a passenger of a Nissan Sentra involved in the crash, which occurred shortly before 4:30 a.m. on northbound state Route 125 just south of Spring Street, said CHP Officer Jasmine Lopez.

There were two people in the Nissan. One died and the other fled. The name of the deceased person was not released.

The driver of a Mercedes E350 had stopped on the right shoulder for unknown reasons, Lopez said.

The Nissan driver drove onto the right shoulder and ran into the back of the Mercedes SUV, she said. The Mercedes was pushed forward on the shoulder, but the Nissan ended up in the traffic lanes, where a Ford Edge crashed into it. The impact sent both cars into the center median.

The driver and passengers in the Mercedes and the driver of the Ford were all transported to hospitals with minor injuries.

Lopez said it is not known if drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash, which remains under investigation. There was no surveillance camera at the crash scene, so investigators are looking at nearby cameras in hopes of learning more, she said.

“Fleeing the scene of a crash is not only a criminal offense, but it is a betrayal of the responsibility every driver has to others on the road,” CHP Capt. Michael Monteagudo said in a statement.