The wrong-way driver who was killed in an Interstate 5 crash that also claimed the lives of two young people had a “history of DUI,” a California Highway Patrol officer said Monday.

The driver was identified by the Medical Examiner’s Office as 29-year-old David Michael Elmore of Encinitas, and CHP spokesman Jim Bettencourt said Elmore reached speeds of 100 mph before the fatal crash.

About 3 a.m. Sunday, Elmore made a U-turn on south I-5 near the Tijuana border, prompting a 40-mile, wrong-way pursuit.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers chased Elmore and tried to put down spike strips to stop his car, but were unable to place them in time due to his speed. Officers lost track of his vehicle near downtown, Bettencourt said.


Elmore eventually crashed his Mercedes into a Chrysler sedan between Manchester Avenue and Lomas Santa Fe Drive, and both cars caught fire. Elmore was killed instantly. The driver of the Chrysler and his female passenger were also killed.

It is unclear why Elmore turned around at the border, Bettencourt said. A toxicology report is pending to determine if he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Bettencourt said, considering Elmore’s history of driving under the influence. The officer said Elmore has three DUI convictions in San Diego County for incidents in 2012 and 2013.

The 23-year-old man and 24-year-old woman who died in the crash were identified as La Jolla residents by the Medical Examiner’s Office, but their names were not released. Bettencourt said the couple was in a rental car, and plane tickets were found inside.