Driver arrested after deadly wrong-way crash on eastbound Highway 4 in Pittsburg

PITTSBURG (CBS SF/BCN) –  A crash involving a wrong-way driver on state Highway 4 in Pittsburg on Tuesday morning left one person dead, three others including an infant hospitalized and the wrong-way driver under arrest, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The CHP initially received a report around 11:05 a.m. of someone driving west in the eastbound lanes of Highway 4 near Railroad Avenue. The vehicle, a Dodge Durango, collided head-on into a Honda Accord. A Toyota and a tanker truck then hit the Honda. The Dodge driver fled but was taken into custody by Pittsburg police, CHP officials said.

The Honda driver died at the scene of the collision and a passenger in the car was taken to a hospital with major injuries. The Toyota driver and an infant passenger were also taken to the hospital, while the tanker truck driver did not report any injuries, according to the CHP.

The name of the Dodge driver under arrest and the Honda driver who died in the crash were both not immediately available.

Investigators believe impairment may have been a factor in the crash. Video obtained by KPIX shows first responders assisting the driver of the SUV at the center of the collision. He's clearly distraught in the footage, begging the EMTs "not to kill (him)" as they placed him in an ambulance. 

The collision shut down lanes of eastbound Highway 4 for several hours, creating a large traffic jam. 

According to reports, all lanes were reopened and the incident cleared as of shortly after 2 p.m. Eastbound traffic was still backed up to Concord at that time.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, the crash was the 15th on the highway this year, and the fourth one since Nov. 16. Records show that a total of 19 people died in those crashes, including at least three children.

In:
• Highway 4
• Fatal Crash