Update: 4 dead in 4 separate wrong-way crashes on Bay Area highways over the weekend
OAKLAND – Four people were killed and several others injured in four separate wrong-way crashes on Bay Area highways over the weekend.
One of the crashes happened at about 4 a.m. Sunday morning in Sunnyvale on State Highway 237 near Mathilda Ave. The California Highway Patrol said it involved a 2021 Honda Civic heading east in the westbound lanes which struck a 2017 Honda Civic in the #2 lane head-on at freeway speed.
Both the 34-year-old man driving the 2021 Honda and the 22-year-old man driving the 2017 Honda were pronounced dead at the scene. No other passengers were in the vehicles.
Alcohol was suspected as a factor in the crash. The CHP closed all lanes initially and then eventually were able to open up one lane; the lane closures lasted for about an hour and a half.
***KCBS TRAFFIC ALERT***#Sunnyvale #Highway237 A deadly 2 car head on crash triggered by a wrong way driver blocks all lanes of Westbound 237 at Mathilda Avenue. #KCBSTraffic
— KCBS Radio - The Traffic Leader (@KCBSAMFMTraffic) April 23, 2023
On Saturday afternoon, one person was killed and two were injured in a wrong-way crash on Interstate 280 south of Highway 92 in Woodside.
A white Ford sedan driving north in the southbound lanes collided with a southbound black BMW, the Highway Patrol said in a series of tweets.
The BMW's driver, described as a woman in her 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency personnel, police said. A 14-year-old boy who was a passenger in her car was taken to a hospital with major injuries.
Earlier Saturday morning, a 22-year-old driver of a 2018 Nissan pickup truck driving the wrong way on southbound U.S. Highway 101 near San Rafael was killed after a hitting 2011 BMW head-on.
The CHP said the BMW driver suffered major injuries. The driver of the Nissan pickup was suspected of DUI.
On Sunday, a fourth wrong-way crash happened on westbound Interstate 580 near the Seminary Avenue off-ramp. The CHP was alerted to the incident at a little past 7 a.m. when witnesses called to report that the driver of a Ford F-150 pickup truck was heading the wrong way and intentionally trying to run head-on into other vehicles.
The F-150 eventually collided with a Ford F-250 owned by the City of Oakland, with the crash shutting down all The driver of the F-150 was taken to Highland Hospital with major injuries and the driver of the F-250 was taken to the same hospital with minor injuries, said CHP spokesperson Officer Karina Oseguera.
All lanes were reopened to traffic at about 8:30 a.m., Oseguera said.