Lauren Craven / La Mesa Police Department
La Mesa, California – A La Mesa police officer and a young driver were killed late Monday night in a chain-reaction crash on Interstate 8, a tragedy that has shaken both law enforcement and the San Diego community.
Authorities said the deadly sequence began just before 10:30 p.m. on the eastbound side of I-8, when one vehicle struck another and overturned. A third car then collided with the overturned vehicle.
Officer Lauren Craven, 25, was driving home from the San Diego Central Jail when she came upon the wreck. She stopped to help. According to the California Highway Patrol, Craven had left her patrol vehicle and was assisting at the scene when a fourth car barreled toward the crash site and hit both her and the 19-year-old driver of the overturned car.
Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
“This is a very tragic situation and it’s very difficult for all involved,” CHP Captain Reggie Williams said Tuesday. “My heartfelt condolences are with the La Mesa Police Department, our fellow brothers and sisters in law enforcement, as well as with the family and loved ones of the other individual who tragically lost their life.”
Craven had been with the La Mesa Police Department for less than two years, joining in February 2024. The department said she was known for her professionalism and calm under pressure — traits that carried through to her final moments, stopping to help strangers on the highway.
The name of the 19-year-old man who also died has not yet been released pending family notification.
Four other people injured in the multi-car collision were taken to area hospitals, officials said. Three have since been released, while one person remained hospitalized as of Tuesday afternoon. Investigators are still determining whether drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash.
By Tuesday morning, flowers and notes had begun to collect at the La Mesa Police Department, where colleagues described Craven as “the kind of officer everyone wanted beside them.”
Highway patrol investigators said the incident underscores the dangers officers face even off duty, especially when stopping to help after major freeway collisions.
“She saw people in distress and she acted,” Williams said. “It’s who she was — a protector to the end.”
The eastbound lanes of I-8 were closed for several hours overnight as crews cleared the wreckage. The investigation is ongoing.
