Wrong-Way Interstate Drivers - October 2009

Posted by Steve Lombardi on October 04, 2010

Wrong way sign.jpgCalifornia-Oregon Border – October 31, 2009 – An elderly man driving the wrong direction on I-5 at 10:21 a.m. crashed head-on with another truck and killing them both. The at-fault driver was Gerald L. DeRosa, 78 and the not-at-fault driver was a 34-year-old woman from Washington State. Looking at the image shot by Mike Slikiyou the crash scene is just around a curve in the interstate highway. It’s a bad scene, but a great image. Good angle, terrific lighting and it shows the rescue workers in action. Traffic was tied up for over four hours.

Healdsburg, California - October 31, 2009 – A woman was killed when a wrong-way driver in a 1991 Ford Explorer struck her head-on. The wrong-way driver was heading north in the southbound lanes on Highway 101. This highway is also known as Old Redwood Highway. The at-fault driver was treated for minor injuries. According to the report this driver was treated for minor injuries, then taken to the Sonoma County Jail by CHIP’s and charged with gross vehicular manslaughter, felony driving under the influence of alcohol, felony driving the wrong-way on a divided highway, causing death and driving without a license. Report indicates alcohol was a major contributing factor. Follow-up story named the victims. See Driver, victim named in Healdsburg wrong-way accident. This at-fault driver from Geyserville is reported to have been arrested and later arraigned in Sonoma County Superior Court. See Driver in Fatal Wrong-Way Crash to Be Arraigned Tuesday - Created by Kimberlee Sakamoto on 11/2/2009 1:04:00 PM. The at-fault driver is reported to be 26-years of age and injured only slightly.

Chandler, Arizona – October 30, 2009 – This driver headed south in the northbound lanes of Maricopa Road and was reported to be weaving in and out of traffic before crashing head-on with another vehicle. The highway is Arizona 347. Emergency calls started coming in around 8:00 p.m.

Corpus Christi, Texas – October 29, 2009 – I promise you we will get out of October’s wrong-way collisions but before we do there’s another one from the great state of Texas. This one on the I-37 Access Road came to the crest of a hill and there a head-on collision killed the right-way driver, 47-year-old Woody Sanderfer a businessman with a wife, three children and 9 grandchildren. The report from KIII-TV-3 indicates the at-fault driver may have been under the influence of heroin. If the use of heroin isn’t enough of a twist reportedly the wrong-way driver used this access road as a short cut and had on previous occasions done this same wrong-way maneuver. Or so says a witness. See the quote below. Video report available.

“Police say a witness claims Pena would go the wrong way on the Access Road all the time using it as a short cut.

Three news investigated today and learned through public records that pena didn't have a valid driver's license, and two hours prior to the fatal wreck, pena was stopped by police for going 15 miles an hour over the speed limit.  He was given two citations.

"At that point he did not have any outward signs of being under the influence." said Corpus Christi Police Captain Michael McKinney.  

Pena reportedly underwent surgery on Thursday for a broken ankle.  He is under guard held for Manslaughter.  But, police  say when a positive blood test returns the charge could change to Intoxication Manslaughter.”

http://www.kiiitv.com/news/local/67370687.html

Dallas, Texas – October 29, 2009 – This one on the Dallas North Tollway where police allege the man driving the wrong-way car was impaired by alcohol, driving with his lights turned off, crashed into a barrier after entering the southbound lanes from the north at the Wycliff Avenue exit just a little after midnight. Heavy rains had just fallen which may have contributed to his confusion. This wrong-way driver was 39-years of age, driving a black Ford F-150. A video report from KDFW-Fox-4 is available.

For additional reports see the initial links below.

Multnomah County, Oregon – October 29, 2009 – In this wrong-way collision a woman on a motorized bike was reported to have been driving the wrong-way in a bike lane and without a light. She was hit by a car turning right onto Southeast Powell Boulevard near 134th Avenue. The driver of the car fled the scene but later that day turned himself into police. There was no evidence of alcohol or drugs but the car driver agreed to pay for the bike rider’s medical bills which could be more than $10,000. Why?

El Mirage, Arizona – October 28, 2009 – We are almost out of October but so far the wrong-way drivers aren’t slowing down. In this one on U.S. 60 the 32-year-old driver went head-on into oncoming traffic, struck one vehicle killing a passenger. His BAC tested at 0.101 and records indicate he had about 30 driving suspensions. The time of this accident is recorded as 3:00 a.m. on a Saturday. Bond was set at $500,000.

West Spokane County, Washington – October 27, 2009 – I-90 westbound driver crossed the median into the southbound lanes of traffic, then struck the pillars of the overpass before coming to a rest under the overpass. Lucky for him it didn’t collapse. I’d hate to get the DOT’s bill for fixing that bridge.

Delaware, Ohio – October 27, 2009 – This 24-year-old woman was sent to rehab rather than jail or prison after driving the wrong-way on I-71 with a toddler in the back seat on New Year’s Day. The report indicates she plead guilty to one-count of cocaine possession. On the day in question (4:10 a.m.) reports had the woman driving, speeding, along north in the southbound lanes of I-71 at 75 to 80 mph causing several cars to swerve to avoid her. After she was stopped her BAC tested at 0.185 in a 0.08 percent state. The child was just 21-months-old. This case demonstrates how other lives are impacted. The child ended up with child protective services and then the grandmother. The wrong-way driver is on probation for two years, can only drive to work, is in rehab has fines to pay off. So the child and the grandmother other people’s lives are being impacted.

Raleigh, North Carolina – October 27, 2009 – This wrong-way driver died after crashing into a sign and tree. The police apparently noticed him driving the wrong-way down a one-way street, tried to stop him but abandoned the chase. The wrong-way driver was 46-years of age. Police suspect alcohol and speed as contributing factors.

Anaheim, California – October 26, 2009 – This 21-year-old female wrong-way driver on Freeway 91 faces felony drunk-driving charges after crashing head-on and causing the death of two people. A second report is in the Orange County Register. The first reports of the wrong-way driver came in at 2:56 a.m. and the eastbound FasTrak lanes were closed until 5:45 a.m.

Billings, Montana – October 26, 2009 – Apparently this wrong-way driver was spotted coming onto I-90 by driving up an exit ramp. Interesting enough the car behind the first one that swerved was a Sheriff’s deputy, Corey Wheeldon who immediately put on his lights and pulling the mini-van over. Here is the report from the Billings Gazette:

“The driver appeared to be distracted and highly intoxicated, said he was trying to get "over there'' and pointed toward King Avenue West, records said. His speech was slurred and his eyes were red and glassy. Dambrosio gave the deputy a false name, refused to do any physical tests and refused to give a breath sample. Deputy County Attorney Julie Mees asked for a $35,000 bond. Dambrosio, she said, has a "terrible, terrible history'' and listed offenses that include four DUIs in the 1990s, a felony assault and a robbery, 47 traffic convictions since 1986 and a felony criminal endangerment in 2004 that was amended from a DUI.”

Arlington, Texas – October 25, 2009 – Wrong-way north in the southbound lanes of the 7100 block of Matlock Road and colliding with a Hummer. The driver, an 18-year-old gentleman drove his Honda Accord into this large SUV. No indication reported on the possible cause.

Liberty, New York – Route 17 wrong-way by 35-year-old woman charged with driving under the influence of alcohol with BAC 3x the legal limit.

Charlotte, North Carolina – October 2009 – A search of News Channel 36’s site produced these results of wrong-way collisions in the North Carolina area.

Charlotte News - Apr 2, 2010 - Woman killed in head-on collision talked to husband about safety concerns - A toddler survived a head-on collision that killed two women and now we’ve learned that one of those women used to talk about just how dangerous the road she was killed on can be.

Westchester, Oklahoma – October 24, 2009 – This on I-75 near 201st Street South was on a Friday night involving a 33-year-old man as the at-fault driver. He was driving southbound in the northbound lanes of travel on Highway 75 near 201st Street. He crashed head-on into a pickup truck at around 10:45 p.m. The at-fault driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

Kansas City, Missouri – October 23, 2009 – Wrong-way driver on U.S. Highway 71 was stopped before doing too much damage. This one is at 2:15 a.m. near 75th Street driving north in the southbound lanes where he did hit another car.

Hartford, Connecticut – October 24, 2009 – Wrong-way on I-84 killed the at-fault driver. The collision occurred on a Friday at around 12:15 a.m. The other driver was injured but not killed.

The subject of wrong-way interstate highway incidents is certainly worth a few more days. I have more than a few days worth more to blog about for the sake of other subjects, by Wednesday or Thursday we will head in other directions. See you tomorrow.

No comments yet

Start the discussion by using the form below

Post a comment

Fill out this form to add a comment to the discussion
I'd like to leave a comment. is
,
is
,
is
is