Wrong-Way Driver Dies in Freeway Collision

A man driving the wrong way on the Hollywood Freeway early Sunday slammed head-on into another car, killing himself and seriously injuring two people in the other car, authorities said.

The accident occurred shortly after 6 a.m. on the southbound 101 Freeway just north of Normandie Avenue, California Highway Patrol Officer Clarence Johnson said.

A 27-year-old man driving north on the southbound lanes slammed into a car driven by a 35-year-old woman, officials said. The force of the collision crumpled both cars and sprayed shattered glass across all lanes of the freeway.

The woman was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center with critical injuries. Her passenger, a 21-year-old man, was taken to Queen of Angels-Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center with serious injuries. Their identities were not immediately available.

The driver of the wrong-way car was pronounced dead at the scene. He was later identified as Anthony Louis Leichtweiss, 27, of Los Angeles, Claude Boucher, Los Angeles County coroner investigator said.

The accident blocked several lanes of the southbound Hollywood Freeway. Some drivers reaching the bottleneck put their cars in reverse and backed up the Vermont Avenue on-ramp to take surface street detours.

CHP officers at one point closed all lanes of the freeway as the accident victims were being removed from the wrecked cars. The freeway was reopened about 8 a.m.