Six victims of fatal San Diego County traffic crashes identified

Authorities have publicly identified six people who lost their lives in recent weeks to San Diego County traffic crashes.

The most recent of the roadway deaths occurred shortly before 2:30 a.m. Sunday, when Joell Jamie, 33, was struck by two vehicles on West Mission Bay Drive, according to the county Medical Examiner’s Office and San Diego Police Department. She died at the scene.

The unidentified person behind the wheel of the first vehicle that hit Jamie continued driving and left the area to the south, according to police. The other involved motorist pulled over and gave a statement to investigators.

Shortly after 10 a.m. Friday, Jacob Berntsen, 48, was fatally injured in his hometown of Valley Center when the SUV he was driving veered off Lilac Road and struck a tree. Berntsen died at the scene of the crash south of Old Castle Road, the medical examiner reported.

Early Feb. 24, a vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian on state Route 52 in Clairemont, authorities said. Francis Gray, 48, was standing in a traffic lane on the eastbound side of the freeway when a pickup truck hit him shortly after 1:30 a.m., according to the county agency. Gray died before paramedics could take him to a hospital.

A day earlier, a head-on collision on a backcountry road a few miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border claimed the life of a 35-year-old motorist. Miguel Araque of Los Angeles was heading east on state Route 94 just before 3 p.m. Feb. 23 when the 2...