Suspected wrong-way driver triggers fatal crash on 405 Freeway in Costa Mesa

COSTA MESA (FOX 11 / CNS) - A 29-year-old motorist driving the wrong way Sunday on the San Diego (405) Freeway in Costa Mesa triggered a two-vehicle crash that killed him and another driver, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The wrong-way motorist was later identified as Jose Garcia Lopez of Fullerton, 29. Lopez would have been 30 years old on January 27, according to the coroner's office.

The crash on the northbound freeway, just north of the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway, occurred a little after 4 a.m., the CHP reported.

Lopez, driving a 2001 Ford, was going southbound in the northbound lanes of the San Diego (405) Freeway at an unknown speed when he collided with a 2004 Ford driven by a 36-year-old man, the CHP reported.

The name of the second victim will be released pending notification of next of kin, according to the coroner's office.

The crash caused both vehicles to catch fire and both men died at the scene, the CHP reported. It was not immediately known why Lopez was traveling in the wrong direction.

The CHP's Santa Ana office asked anyone with information regarding the crash to call them at (714) 567-6000.

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