Investigators at the scene of the crash Monday that killed a La Mesa police officer and another motorist. (Photo courtesy of OnScene.TV)
Fellow officers on Thursday continued to pursue a fundraising campaign for Lauren Craven, a La Mesa police officer who was killed while assisting a motorist at the scene of a crash on Interstate 8 believed to have been caused by a man driving under the influence.
That motorist also died in Monday’s collision. He has been identified as 19-year-old De’Veonte Morris, whom his mother called “heaven on earth.”
Meanwhile, the California Highway Patrol on Thursday evening revealed more details about the crash – including the arrest of a La Mesa man suspected of DUI.
La Mesa Police Officer Lauren Craven. (Photo courtesy of La Mesa Police Department)
The CHP said Craven arrived following a series of crashes
involving five vehicles, including a Mazda 3, that occurred on eastbound I-8, east of Interstate 15. After she began
rendering aid to the motorists involved in the wreck, she was struck by a Toyota Camry allegedly driven by the 38-year-old man.
She and Morris, the driver of the Mazda, were pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the Toyota sustained moderate injuries, the CHP said in a news release, and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. He was later arrested on suspicion of DUI.
The other parties involved in the wreck sustained minor to moderate injuries and were also transported to a local hospital for treatment. The CHP offered no updates on their conditions, nor did they release the name of the Camry driver.
Members of the police community continue to mourn Craven’s loss, while Morris’ family remembered him as a young man who was close to his younger brother and wanted to one day run his own business.
“He was just my rock. I don’t even know how I can even live or think or eat or drink or sleep without him. He was heaven on earth,” Morris’s mother, Annesha Meekie, said about her late son.
Meekie added that her son was a beautiful soul who was responsible and respectful – and that Morris’ father, Tyree, died on the same day three years ago.
There is a GoFundMe fundraiser to support Morris’s family, launched by Green Elementary School, where his little brother attends kindergarten. As of Thursday evening, more than $5,500 has been raised toward the $9,000 goal.
Craven, a Bend, Oregon native who turned 25 on Oct. 7, was recalled by her father, David Craven, as someone who wanted to dedicate her life to being “that good cop” for anybody who needed her.
“Every day we would talk on her way home from work, which was six in the morning, or on the way to work,” he said. “She loved it. She loved getting up to go to work. She was excited to get out there and serve.”
Craven, who joined LMPD in February 2024 and was assigned to its patrol unit, died at the scene, as did the driver involved in the initial crash.
“On behalf of the entire La Mesa Police Department, I want to offer my deepest condolences to Lauren’s family and friends,” LMPD Chief Ray Sweeney during a news conference Tuesday afternoon. “We grieve with you, and we will stand with you in the days and years to come.”
Sweeney described Craven, a 2023 Loyola Marymount University graduate, as “a light.”
“Her positivity was immediate and genuine,” he said. “Whether helping a colleague, answering a stranger’s question or stepping up into a difficult case that she was working, she led with compassion, courage and professionalism.”
“In an effort to support the family of Officer Lauren Craven, the La Mesa Police Officers’ Association has launched an official Fund a Hero campaign,” the police association said in a statement. “All proceeds will go directly to her family.”
The association’s goal is to raise $75,000 for Craven’s family; as of Thursday evening contributions to the fundraiser had reached more than $26,000.
City News Service contributed to this report.
Updated 6:15 p.m. Oct. 23, 2025
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