Woman dies after crash while driving the wrong way on I-405 freeway in Irvine
Nov. 10, 2015 Updated 7:33 a.m.
By ALYSSA DURANTY / STAFF WRITER
IRVINE ? A 54-year-old woman died early Tuesday morning after she collided head-on with a car as she was driving the wrong way on a freeway in Irvine, officials said.
Rieko Toyama of Gardena was driving southbound shortly before 1:20 a.m. in the carpool lane on the northbound I-405 when she collided with a 2014 BMW near Harvard Avenue, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officials said the crash caused the white 2010 Nissan Toyama was driving to flip and she partially fell out of the car. She was not wearing a seat belt and died at the scene, officials said.
Hassan Kadri, a 29-year-old Westminster man, was driving the black 2014 BMW. He and Sabina Teodorescu, his 29-year-old passenger from Fountain Valley, were taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange with major injuries.
After the initial collision, Isabelo and Zoima Millanar, a Westminster couple in their 70s, were driving in a gray 2008 Mercedes-Benz and crashed into the white Nissan after it had flipped.
The couple was taken to Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana with minor injuries.
It was unclear how long Toyama was driving the wrong way on the freeway before the crash, said CHP Officer Florentino Olivera.
Officials did not immediately know if alcohol or drugs played a factor in the collision.
All lanes on the freeway were reopened to traffic before the morning commute, according to the online CHP log.
Nov. 10, 2015 Updated 7:33 a.m.
By ALYSSA DURANTY / STAFF WRITER
IRVINE ? A 54-year-old woman died early Tuesday morning after she collided head-on with a car as she was driving the wrong way on a freeway in Irvine, officials said.
Rieko Toyama of Gardena was driving southbound shortly before 1:20 a.m. in the carpool lane on the northbound I-405 when she collided with a 2014 BMW near Harvard Avenue, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officials said the crash caused the white 2010 Nissan Toyama was driving to flip and she partially fell out of the car. She was not wearing a seat belt and died at the scene, officials said.
Hassan Kadri, a 29-year-old Westminster man, was driving the black 2014 BMW. He and Sabina Teodorescu, his 29-year-old passenger from Fountain Valley, were taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange with major injuries.
After the initial collision, Isabelo and Zoima Millanar, a Westminster couple in their 70s, were driving in a gray 2008 Mercedes-Benz and crashed into the white Nissan after it had flipped.
The couple was taken to Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana with minor injuries.
It was unclear how long Toyama was driving the wrong way on the freeway before the crash, said CHP Officer Florentino Olivera.
Officials did not immediately know if alcohol or drugs played a factor in the collision.
All lanes on the freeway were reopened to traffic before the morning commute, according to the online CHP log.
