In an early morning tragedy, southbound Interstate 163 through Kearny Mesa was closed following a fatal accident that claimed four lives; it occurred just before 1:30 a.m. near the intersection with Interstate 805, as reported by NBC 7 San Diego.

Upon their arrival, California Highway Patrol discovered a grim scene with several individuals ejected from their vehicles, two Toyota Priuses and a Toyota Tacoma that lay overturned; two victims were pronounced dead at the scene, and two others succumbed to their injuries at a local hospital later authorities have yet to determine if they were wearing seatbelts, were all occupants of one Prius that final rested on the freeway's left shoulder, NBC 7 San Diego disclosed CHP's findings to the public, a CHP Sgt. Melissa Andrews added that the involved drivers were arrested on DUI suspicions.

Details on the incident further confirm that while the Tacoma's driver was arrested on suspicion of DUI, that very driver luckily avoided physical harm despite the vehicle's condition after the crash—resting flipped over and alone because no passengers were inside. NBC 7 San Diego relayed information that states the second Prius following a similar pattern ended up on the right shoulder, its driver was also apprehended under the suspicion of DUI having no passengers and reporting no injuries said Sgt. Andrews, at this one moment, it's unclear if these arrests are directly connected to the casualties or if they were part of separate incidents that might have occurred concurrently on that same stretch of freeway.

Additional coverage from The San Diego Union-Tribune highlights the widespread disruption to the morning commute, emphasizing that SR-163 is a primary ingress into downtown San Diego; this route was still shut down well into the late morning hours today.