Wrong-Way Driver Arrested In Horrific San Jose Crash
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) – A wrong-way driver triggered a horrific head-on crash involving three vehicles in San Jose early Wednesday, shutting down the southbound lanes on Highway 280 and sending two people to the hospital with major injuries, authorities said.
CHP spokesman Officer Ross Lee said 23-year-old Tarick Dereje of North Hollywood has been arrested on driving under the influence charges.
Dereje was allegedly driving a Volkswagen Golf north in the southbound lanes of Highway 280 south of Bird Avenue and collided head-on with a Chevrolet at about 3:30 a.m.
Shortly after that, a BMW also struck the Volkswagen.
Dereje and the Chevrolet driver, a 24-year-old Livermore woman, were taken to a hospital with injuries that are considered major but not life-threatening, Lee said.
The driver of the BMW, a 29-year-old San Jose woman, did not suffer any significant injuries.
The collisions scattered wreckage across all of the southboundlanes. At 4:23 a.m., the far right lane was opened and by about 5:40 a.m., all lanes reopened to traffic, according to the CHP.
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