Authorities have publicly identified four people who lost their lives to separate San Diego County traffic crashes over the last week, two on the same day and one in a hit-and-run.
The most recent took place shortly before 1 a.m. Wednesday, when an eastbound car veered off state Route 54 near Highland Avenue in Chula Vista, struck a road sign and went down an embankment, according to the county Medical Examiner’s Office and California Highway Patrol.
A passenger in the vehicle, 21-year-old Jalen Sealee of Chula Vista, suffered severe blunt-force trauma and was pronounced dead at UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest about an hour later. The 20-year-old man who had been driving the car was arrested on suspicion of DUI, the CHP reported.
Two days earlier, a vehicle fatally struck a pedestrian near Lake Murray, according to the county agency. Katherine Pederson, 61, was crossing the street on Baltimore Drive in La Mesa when the sedan hit her about 9:45 p.m. Monday. Paramedics took her to Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
At about 3:15 p.m. Monday, Stryder Spillane, 38, was mortally injured when the sedan he was driving veered off state Route 76 near Pala Casino and struck a tree, the medical examiner reported. Spillane died at the scene of the crash.
Early last Friday, a vehicle struck Stacy Denton, 71, on Morena Boulevard in Bay Park, after which the involved motorist drove off, authorities said. Paramedics took Denton to UCSD Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead about 5:30 a.m., according to the county agency.
The medical examiner released no communities of residence for Sealee, Pederson or Denton.