Driver Killed In Wrong-Way Crash Identified

MILPITAS, CA — A 52-year-old man who died after causing a collision with four other vehicles in Milpitas early Tuesday morning when he drove the wrong direction on Interstate Highway 880 has been identified as Oakland resident Luis Gutierrez Rodriguez, according to the Santa Clara County medical examiner's office.

Police received a call at about 4:50 a.m. Tuesday when the female driver of a Buick was driving south in the second lane from the left on Highway 880 and saw headlights coming at her between her lane and the one on
her right, California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Ross Lee said.

She swerved to her left to try to avoid a collision, but Gutierrez Rodriguez's Ford van that was going the wrong way hit the back quarter panel of her vehicle on the passenger side, according to Lee.

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Following that collision, Gutierrez Rodriguez hit a Honda pickup truck head-on. After hitting the pickup truck, he lost control and spun out to the left, hitting a Mercedes-Benz that was then rear-ended by a Honda
Civic, according to Lee.

Gutierrez Rodriguez was taken to a hospital but later passed away, Lee said. One driver out of the group of cars that Gutierrez Rodriguez hit was treated at a hospital for minor injuries.

The crash affected southbound lanes that were shut down until about 7:15 a.m.

Investigators do not yet know whether drugs or alcohol played a part in the crash, Lee said.

— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock