Statement in Response to Fatality on La Cresta Road

​EL CAJON – In response to today’s fatal collision on La Cresta Road, Ron Nehring, Chairman of the Crest Dehesa Granite Hills Harbison Canyon Planning Group, issued the following statement:

We are heartbroken by today’s tragic loss of life in a traffic collision on La Cresta Road. Full details of the collision are not yet known. Our thoughts are with the victim’s family and loved ones. We are grateful to the California Highway Patrol, Sherriff's Department, firefighters, and all first responders for their professionalism and courage. We especially acknowledge their heroic efforts to rescue and save the life of the trapped passenger under extreme circumstances.

Serious collisions on La Cresta Road are an ongoing concern for residents. This road is a vital connector between the communities of Crest, Dehesa, Harbison Canyon and Granite Hills and the City of El Cajon and Interstate 8, and its safety affects thousands of daily drivers.

Public reporting indicates at least five fatalities on this stretch of road in the past decade, including four in the last six years alone. Even one fatality is too many.

Between Greenfield Drive and Mountain View Road there are eight blind curves where westbound drivers have limited visibility into oncoming lanes. Long stretches of roadway also lack a shoulder, leaving no room for drivers to avoid a vehicle that crosses the center line. These conditions have raised sustained concerns in the community about roadway safety.

Drivers must approach La Cresta Road with heightened caution. The combination of blind curves and narrow margins for recovery means unsafe driving can have immediate and irreversible consequences for residents and other motorists. Treating this road casually puts lives at risk.