Motorist dies in collision with wrong-way driver in Riverside County
A man driving in Riverside County was killed Thursday when his car was hit by a suspected drunk driver heading the wrong way on a freeway, authorities said.
Shortly after 3 a.m., the California Highway Patrol received calls of a Chevrolet Impala driving west in the eastbound lanes of the 60 Freeway near the Day Street exit, CHP Officer Steven Cuevas said.
Minutes later, authorities received calls that the car had struck a vehicle.
Cuevas said CHP officers closed the freeway for about an hour as firefighters extracted people from the two cars.
The man driving in the right direction, whose identity has not been released by authorities, was pronounced dead on the scene.
The woman driving in the wrong direction -- whom authorities identified as Patricia Starr-Blanco, 24, of Moreno Valley -- was hospitalized with serious, life-threatening injuries. A passenger in that car, Gabriela Rodriguez, 23, suffered moderate injuries.
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