Donna Okamoto,Jonathan Lupola Obituary, Death; – Authorities have officially named eight individuals who tragically lost their lives in traffic accidents in San Diego County over the past few weeks, with three fatalities occurring on the same day.
The latest incident occurred shortly before 6 p.m. last Thursday, when a Kawasaki motorcycle operated by 21-year-old Ivan Johnson from Monterey County collided with a Nissan SUV on southbound Interstate 5 near Pacific Highway in the Middletown area of San Diego, as reported by the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office. Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene.
On March 16, Donna Okamoto, a 58-year-old resident of Santa Ana, was traveling west in a Mitsubishi SUV on state Route 76 near Lilac Road around 2:30 a.m. when an eastbound driver attempted to overtake another vehicle, resulting in a head-on collision with Okamoto’s vehicle, according to the medical examiner. She was transported to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, where she succumbed to her injuries.
The day prior, a hit-and-run incident claimed the life of a Las Vegas man near MiraCosta College. Jonathan Lupola, 34, was riding an electric bicycle on Oceanside Boulevard when he was struck by an unidentified vehicle, leaving him severely injured. The driver fled the scene, and Lupola passed away three days later at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.
On March 14, a 27-year-old driver sustained fatal injuries in a fiery accident on eastbound Interstate 8 in the College area. William Gonzalez, a resident of San Diego, was traveling east near College Avenue around 1 a.m. when his Honda sedan collided with a fuel tanker truck and subsequently hit a center divider. Shortly thereafter, an SUV collided with his vehicle, igniting a fire. Gonzalez was pronounced dead at the scene.
On March 9, a 60-year-old man from Los Angeles lost his life in a crash in a neighborhood close to Leucadia State Beach. Roderick Armstrong was assisting his stepfather in parking a car on Jupiter Street in Encinitas around 6 p.m. when the Acura sedan he was in was involved in the accident.
In Escondido on March 8, Carrie Livingston, 59, was trying to cross East Washington Street near Ash Street on foot late at night when a Toyota sedan struck her. An ambulance crew took her to Palomar Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead shortly before 12:30 a.m. the following day.
Another March 8 traffic crash killed a 36-year-old man in Spring Valley, according to the county agency. Shortly before 7 p.m. that day, Jesse Ramirez of La Mesa collided with a van while riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle on Sweetwater Springs Boulevard near Rothgard Road. Paramedics took him to Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego, where he was pronounced dead.
Early that same day, another hit-and-run killed a pedestrian, the medical examiner reported. Tina Smith, 54, was walking across the street on East Plaza Boulevard in National City about 2:15 a.m. when a westbound Chrysler sedan hit her. Smith died at the scene. The unidentified motorist fled, officials said.
