Suspected Wrong-Way Driver, 2 Others Killed In Fiery Crash On 5 Freeway
SOLANA BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Authorities say a speeding driver traveled in the wrong direction on the 5 Freeway for nearly 40 miles and the result was deadly.
Three people were killed in the crash overnight Sunday, including the suspected wrong-way driver just before 3 a.m. near Lomas Santa Fe Drive off-ramp in Solana Beach.
One car burned along the median, while the other had flipped upside down.
The CHP says a 29-year-old man drove his Mercedes 38 miles in the wrong direction before smashing into a Chrysler with two occupants inside.
The CHP says the Mercedes was going south on Interstate 5 when it suddenly made a U-turn at the San Ysidro border.
"For whatever reason, he didn't want to be in Mexico, made a U-turn and came back. Started driving northbound in the southbound lanes," Jim Bettencourt of the CHP said.
The U.S. Border Patrol briefly followed the car and agents alerted CHP and then pulled back.
"The U.S. Customs and Border Protection did everything they could to try to catch up with him, but unfortunately he was just going too fast," Bettencourt said.
The suspected wrong-way driver and two people in the second car were pronounced dead.
The CHP says they don't know yet if alcohol or drugs were involved.
