LA MESA — A woman was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after crashing on Spring Street in La Mesa late Friday night, adding yet another incident to the troubling safety record of one of the city's most crash-prone roads.

La Mesa police said the woman was heading south when she crossed the center median, struck two trees, and came to a stop in the northbound lanes. She suffered minor injuries. No other vehicles were involved.

The crash occurred on a stretch of Spring Street that has earned a grim reputation among residents. According to La Mesa's Local Road Safety Plan — published in 2024 — Spring Street ranks as the sixth most dangerous road in the city. Between January 2020 and October 2025, La Mesa police recorded 57 crashes on the segment between Lemon Avenue and Palm Avenue and Gateside Road — a 70-month span roughly amounting to one crash every five weeks. Speed and drunk driving are cited as the primary contributing factors.

"It's like a disaster alley in the making," said Marva Smith, a resident who lives on Spring Street and heard Friday's collision from her apartment. "I heard this horrific sound — a huge boom."

The city has made some safety improvements to the road, including warning signs, restriping, and a visual radar display showing drivers their speed. But some residents say the measures haven't gone far enough.

Friday's crash comes just one day before the Santee Sheriff's Station conducted a DUI checkpoint on Saturday, March 7, in the 8800 block of North Magnolia Ave in Santee. That operation — which ran from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. — resulted in three DUI arrests and 14 license-related citations, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office.

Source: ABC 10News / KGTV San Diego; San Diego County Sheriff's Office