UPDATE: Victims Killed in Fiery Head-On Crash on I-80 Identified; Driver Responsible Was Missing SF Woman
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY (CBS SF) -- The Contra Costa County medical examiner has identified the two people killed in a head-on collision between a Honda SUV and a Tesla on I-80 near the Carquinez Bridge early Sunday, one of whom was a San Francisco woman who had been reported missing.
CHP said a wrong-way driver traveling west on eastbound I-80 in Contra Costa County early Sunday morning collided head-on with a second vehicle in the fatal crash.
The two victims were identified as 29-year-old San Francisco resident Madyson James and 38-year-old Vallejo resident Ruiju Ma, according to the medical examiner.
CHP said at about 3:41 a.m., officers learned of a wrong way driver traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of I-80 in Crockett near the Carquinez Bridge at Cummings Skyway. The wrong way vehicle, a Honda SUV, continued westbound in the eastbound lanes and collided head on with a Tesla Model 3 traveling in the correct direction on I-80, just west of Pomona Street.
Both vehicles sustained major damage and came to rest within the eastbound lanes with the Tesla overturned and the Honda SUV nearly on top of it. Moments later, a Toyota Camry traveling eastbound collided into the damaged vehicles. After that collision, the Honda and the Tesla became fully engulfed in flames.
The crash completely shut down all eastbound lanes of I-80 for several hours as authorities investigating the collision, creating a major traffic back-up. All lanes reopened by around 7:45 a.m.
In the missing person report issued by San Francisco police on Monday evening, James was last seen on Sunday, March 20 at approximately 12:15 a.m. getting into her white 2015 Honda Fit. The crash she was involved in happened several hours later.
Authorities still have not said if drugs and/or alcohol were a factor in the fatal collision. The incident remains under investigation by CHP. Anyone who witnessed the collision or saw the wrong-way vehicle prior to the collision, or the events leading up to the collision, is asked to contact Contra Costa CHP in Martinez at (925) 646-4980.