James Allina, 79, and his 77-year-old wife, Rosalyn, were seated inside a stationary sedan with its lights off shortly before 7:30 p.m. Monday when another vehicle rear-ended the apparently broken-down car on the eastbound side of the freeway west of Fletcher Parkway in La Mesa.

A 79-year-old man and his 77-year-old wife died Monday night after the Toyota sedan he was driving stopped on Interstate 8 in La Mesa and was hit in a multi-vehicle crash, according to the county Medical Examiner’s Office.