A man was killed and several others were injured in a six-vehicle crash last week at a busy La Jolla intersection long known for traffic problems. The crash happened at La Jolla Parkway near Hidden Valley Road, an area residents say regularly backs up and can be dangerous for drivers. Neighbors d escribed it as a tight, fast-moving stretch of roadway with limited visibility. For years, city leaders and residents have talked about making changes to the area to help alleviate this major traffic problem. “It’s kind of like a blind curve,” local resident Skip McCullough said. “You come in there, all of a sudden, oh snap. You’re listening to your favorite song, and there’s just a car right there. You just hope your brakes are tuned up.” People who work in the area say the heavy traffic flow adds to the danger. “I think it’s the way the cars come off the freeway and then all these other cars,” said Philip Conser, who works in La Jolla. “If someone’s not paying attention — and everyone’s on cell phones these days — anything can happen.” Sarah Bredhoff and her family moved nearby just six months ago. She says she frequently sees crashes and emergency vehicles responding to the intersection. “It’s so dangerous,” Bredhoff said. “There are so many accidents that there’s always some kind of emergency vehicle flying through.” NBC 7 reviewed crash data and found that from 2022 through September 2025, there were 51 reported crashes at the intersection — not including last week’s fatal collision. Bredhoff was near the scene of Thursday night’s crash and described a chaotic response. “I wasn’t sure who was going to get the medical attention they needed because there was so much confusion,” she said. “It was horrible.” Police say the crash involved six vehicles and likely began when a driver ran a red light and broadsided another car. An older man was killed. “I don’t know what they can do to mitigate this,” Bredhoff said. “People are just going to continue to get hurt, or die, in their cars, trying to cross the street.” The deadly crash has reignited long-standing concerns about road design, traffic flow, and community safety in the area. NBC 7 has reached out to the San Diego Police Department and the city’s transportation department about the cause of the accident and information about any changes proposed for the intersection, respectively. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less