Santee City Staff Considering Changes to Make End of SR-125 Safer

Also read: Sign to be Dedicated in Memory of Woman Who Died in Crash at End of SR-125

At the January 9 meeting of the Santee City Council a resident brought up the issue of repeated car crashes at the end of the SR-125 freeway at Mission Gorge Road. Her attention to the matter had been reignited by the most recent accident in December, which involved a 21-year-old Orange County man accused of driving drunk and crashing into a San Diego police car, seriously injuring a rookie officer. As a result the wooden caution barrier now sits in shambles at the intersection.

Deputy City Manager Pedro Orso-Delgado replied that city staff were setting up meetings with Caltrans to discuss ideas to make the end of the freeway safer for motorists. Ideas discussed at the council meeting included reducing the width of the freeway at the end so it doesn't seem as much like a freeway and drivers will slow down, implementing a net type system or the more traditional sand bed or water barrels.

Between 2006 and 2012 there have been 61 traffic collisions at the intersection of Mission Gorge Road and SR-125, 14 caused by a DUI driver, 16 caused by speeding, and three deadly, according to the Sheriff's Department. Of the three deadly crashes, two were caused by DUI, one by a floor mat stuck on the accelerator.

This week the Sheriff's Department is holding a dedication ceremony for a new freeway sign in memory of Pamela Sue Marabeas, who was struck by a drunk driver at the intersection in 2009.

COMMENT: Do you feel safe at that intersection? Do you have any ideas for making it safer?