1 Dead In Wrong-Way Collision On I-80 In Pinole

PINOLE, CA — A Vallejo man died in a collision with a wrong-way driver early Friday on Interstate Highway 80 in Pinole, the California Highway Patrol said.

The CHP was alerted at 12:31 a.m. that a driver was going the wrong way, traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of I-80 near the Carquinez Bridge.

As the wrong-way driver — a 78-year-old Concord woman in a 2015 silver Toyota Camry — continued westbound, she collided head-on with the Vallejo man who was driving a 2017 silver Ford Focus in the eastbound lanes just west of Pinole Valley Road, the CHP said.

Several lanes of the highway were blocked and a Sig-alert was in place for more than an hour, according to the CHP.

The Toyota driver was suffering from major injuries when CHP and emergency medical personnel got to the scene.

The driver of the Ford, a 46-year old Vallejo man, was trapped in the driver's seat suffering major injuries.

His passenger, a 39-year-old woman from Vallejo, suffered minor injuries.

Once the driver of the Ford was extricated by Fire Department personnel, he and the wrong-way driver were both taken by ambulance to John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek.

The Vallejo man's injuries were too grave and he was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Coroners Office was expected to release his name once his next of kin were properly notified.

When the CHP learned the 78-year-old Concord woman who drove the wrong way on the freeway had been reported missing from Concord, CHP notified the Concord Police Department and her family members.

The Concord Police Department responded to the missing person call at 9 p.m. Thursday, Cpl. David Petty told Patch.

The incident was still under investigation Friday; CHP asked anyone who witnessed the crash, saw the Toyota going the wrong way prior to it, or has information about any other events leading up to it, to call Contra Costa CHP in Martinez at 925-646-4980.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.