SAN DIEGO — A wrong-way driver caused a horrific crash on Interstate 8 near College Avenue, killing a 49-year-old woman. CHP officers received 911 calls around 12:40 a.m. Saturday morning reporting a Honda driving eastbound in westbound lanes. Moments later, that vehicle slammed head-on into a Nissan. That car’s driver was taken to the hospital where she died from her injuries.
Investigators have identified the Honda’s driver as 24-year-old Briana Contreras.
“That driver is facing murder charges and also facing DUI charges on that crash,” said CHP Officer Salvador Castro.
He said investigators are still gathering details on that wrong-way crash and another one that happened Friday morning on State Route 163 near Robinson Avenue.
“Some of the details are still under investigation, but we do know that the driver was intoxicated when he came out of downtown, crashed with another vehicle, seriously injuring four people that were in the car,” Officer Castro said.
For years now, Caltrans has been trying to prevent wrong-way drivers. They’ve added signage, flashing lights, sirens and cameras in places where drivers have entered freeways going the wrong way, but despite these precautions, it still keeps happening.
Officers said it’s still not clear where the drivers in the weekend crashes got on the freeway, so it’s not known if they went past posted warnings.
Caltrans wasn't able to comment Tuesday on the effectiveness of their efforts, but CHP officers believe, in some cases, they are saving lives.
“We do see that it works because it's more visibility,” Officer Castro said. “Sometimes these drivers will turn themselves around and go the right way.”
But Officer Castro said the problem is there are too many drivers out there who are so drunk that they don't notice anything.
“A lot of times they're not coherent to where they're at and it's usually someone with a higher BAC (blood alcohol content) that are driving the wrong way on the freeways,” he said, adding that these crashes usually happen on weekends during the early morning hours.
Thanks to a recent grant, the CHP is putting more officers on the streets right now during these times to try and stop drivers before things turn deadly.
But he also warned others to stay alert when driving during the high risk hours and avoid the far left lane because that's where most of these crashes happen.
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