4 killed in wrong-way crash on 71 Freeway in Chino Hills
Four people were killed in a fiery crash with a wrong-way driver on the 71 Freeway in Chino Hill early Sunday morning.
According to authorities, at least six cars collided with the car that entered the wrong side of the freeway at around 2:30 a.m., causing one vehicle to burst into flames in the center divider.
The driver is said to have gotten onto the southbound side of the freeway via Central Avenue, just before colliding with one other vehicle head-on. Both drivers were killed instantly, California Highway Patrol officers said.
On Monday, authorities identified two of the four deceased as 38 year-old Ruth Mulisa Wambusa, and 43 year-old Gedion Mbatha Mutuka both residents of Lake Elsinore. It was unclear which vehicle they were in, though CHP disclosed that they were a driver and passenger.
The wreckage led four other vehicles to crash as well.
CHP says that the speed and force of the collision was so great that the wrong-day driver's vehicle spun around in the air before settling on the center divider where it burst into flames.
Multiple people also suffered injuries in the massive collision, though it was unclear exactly how many patients there were.
"If you're driving at this hour of the evening, early in the morning... If you're able to, stay away from that fast lane," said CHP Officer Stephen Rawls. "Try to travel down the middle lanes, that way you have an out."
The investigation caused the southbound side of the 71 Freeway to close for more than eight hours on Sunday.