2 Die in Fiery Freeway Crash; Driver Arrested

A La Mesa couple waiting in their truck on the freeway for an accident to clear were killed when another driver crashed into them at 65 mph and caused the truck to ignite, California Highway Patrol officials said.

The truck was among five vehicles involved in the accident late Tuesday on the Santa Ana Freeway near Grand Avenue, CHP spokeswoman Angel Johnson said.

About 11 p.m., a driver traveling south struck another car as he tried to avoid debris on the freeway, Johnson said. That accident blocked traffic on all southbound lanes, forcing the La Mesa couple and another driver to stop.

As the couple sat in their truck waiting for the lanes to clear, a sedan traveling at about 65 mph rear-ended it, causing it to “immediately burst into flames,” CHP investigators said.

“The two people inside burned to death,” Johnson said. The names of the 65-year-old man and 62-year-old woman have not been released pending family notification.

Thomas James Mueller, 47, of Irvine, who was driving the sedan, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and is being held in lieu of $10,000 bail at the Orange County Jail. “The officers thought that [Mueller] should have been able to avoid the collision,” Johnson said.

No other serious injuries were reported. Southbound traffic was shut down for almost three hours as officers cleared the accident scene, authorities said.