Man, woman killed in wrong-way crash in Riverside
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Two drivers lost their lives in a horrific wrong-way crash on the 215 Freeway in Riverside early Tuesday morning, police said.
California Highway Patrol officials said just before 1 a.m., they received a call about a wrong-way driver on the northbound lanes of the 215 Freeway near the Washington Street exit. Within 60 seconds, CHP received multiple calls reporting a head-on collision near Center St.
Officials say the female driver of a gray Honda Civic was traveling in the wrong direction when her vehicle plowed into a gray Ford Fusion, driven by a man. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
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"They don’t even look like cars. It’s just like pieces of metal on opposite sides of the freeway," witness Korina Lopez said. "I was freaking out. I was shaking, I couldn’t believe what I just saw. I just instantly started praying for the people in the cars."
The victims have not been identified pending family notification.
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CHP investigators said they found child seats in both cars, but the drivers were the only people inside the vehicles at the time of the crash.
The lanes were closed for four hours as officials conducted the investigation.
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