Two Killed In Fiery Wrong-Way Collision On 605 Freeway In Cerritos
CERRITOS (CBSLA) – Two people were killed when a wrong-way driver caused a fiery head-on collision on the 605 Freeway in Cerritos early Friday morning.
The collision occurred at 2:18 a.m. on the southbound 605 Freeway near South Street.
A witness told California Highway Patrol that the driver of a red Hyundai Elantra stopped on the shoulder of the southbound side and then made a U-turn, so that it was then traveling north in the southbound lanes.
The Hyundai then slammed head-on into another car that was traveling the correct way. Both cars immediately became engulfed in flames.
A Good Samaritan pulled a woman out of one of the cars and began CPR on her, but she died at the scene, CHP said.
That woman was identified by authorities on Saturday as Alyssa Aragon-Ramirez, 26, of El Monte.
The driver of the second car also died at the scene. His identity has not yet been disclosed.
There were no passengers in either car.
"Two Good Samaritans that saw the vehicles fully engulfed, they got out and they attempted to rescue both parties, but only one was able to be extricated," CHP Officer Marcos Iniguez said.
Authorities are attempting to determine why the driver of the Hyundai pulled a U-turn on the freeway.
The southbound side of the freeway was fully reopened a little before 6 a.m. after being shut down for several hours.
