ALPINE, Calif. - A 51-year-old San Diego man died Monday when his van plowed into the back of a slow-moving big-rig on Interstate 8 just west of Viejas Casino.
The tractor-trailer was headed uphill to the east through Alpine at about 25 mph with its emergency flashers activated as the Dodge Sprinter approached from behind at roughly 70 mph shortly before 5:30 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.
"The driver of the Dodge failed to observe the slow-moving truck ahead of his vehicle," CHP public affairs Officer Kevin Pearlstein said. "(He) took no evasive action as the front of the Dodge struck the rear of the truck."
The crash near West Victoria Drive left the front of the van wedged underneath the cargo trailer. The motorist, whose name was withheld pending family notification, died at the scene.
The trucker, a 33-year-old Spring Valley man, was uninjured, Pearlstein said.
The accident forced a roughly two-hour closure of a stretch of the far right-hand eastbound lane of the freeway.
