SPRING VALLEY, Calif -- A series of collisions on an East County freeway left one person dead in a burning sedan and two others injured Thursday, authorities said.

The three-vehicle wreck occurred about 10:45 a.m. on State Route 125, near Jamacha Road in Spring Valley, according to the California Highway Patrol.

One of the involved cars wound up overturned and on fire, the CHP reported. An occupant of that vehicle died at the scene. The Medical Examiner's office identified the victim as Benazir Siddiqui, 38, of Chula Vista.

The accident left the entire southbound side of the route blocked for about a half-hour, prompting the Highway Patrol to issue a heavy-traffic alert for the area. By 11:15 a.m., officers were waving motorists past the damaged vehicles via the far left-hand lane.

The stretch of freeway was fully open again by shortly after 1 p.m.