Three people were killed in a fiery wreck on Interstate 5 near Mission Bay Park early yesterday after a car going the wrong way collided with a pickup, officials said.

Two people in the Ford Ranger were burned beyond recognition. Their identities had not been determined yesterday, the Medical Examiner's Office said.

The wrong-way driver was identified as Katy Jovin, 20, a University of California San Diego student from the community of Highland in San Bernardino County, investigators said. She is survived by her parents, David and Barbara Jovin, of Highland. They could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The crash happened just after 4 a.m. near Balboa Avenue after Jovin's northbound Mustang entered the southbound lanes, the California Highway Patrol said. The Ford Ranger burst into flames. Two other vehicles then hit Jovin's Mustang, and at some point, Jovin was ejected from the car, said Jerry Simmons, a medical examiner's investigator.



Authorities do not know why Jovin was driving the wrong way, said CHP spokesman Larry Landeros. An autopsy is pending, Simmons said.

The CHP closed a stretch of the southbound lanes while authorities investigated and San Diego firefighters extinguished the blaze.

Southbound traffic was diverted off the freeway at Mission Bay Drive. The lanes were reopened about 7:30 a.m.