Wrong-way driver remains hospitalized after 6 people killed in crash
The suspected drunk driver who is accused of causing a multi-vehicle crash traveling the wrong way on the 60 Freeway in Diamond Bar, killing six people, remained hospitalized Monday in stable condition.
Olivia Carolee Culbreath, 21, was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence and felony manslaughter after the incident, which authorities said occurred around 4:40 a.m. when she crashed head-on with a Ford Explorer.
She may have been driving faster than 100 mph, witnesses said.
PHOTOS: Wrong-way crash on 60 Freeway
California Highway Patrol spokesman Rodrigo Jimenez said four people were pronounced dead at the scene and two others died at a hospital. Five of those who died were women.
A Ford Freestyle driven by 57-year-old Joel Cortez was also struck after the initial collision. He suffered minor injuries. His son, Jonathan, said that “all he remembers really is just the airbag going off and he was just moving and moving, and finally the car came to a stop and he looked around, there were people like, lying on the ground, and he said it was like something you would see out of a movie.”
“We’re actually really blessed to the fact that we still have him. We know that six people have been killed from this, and we send our condolences to those families and friends of the victims,” he told ABC7-TV.
Culbreath was in serious but stable condition at a hospital with a ruptured bladder and broken femur, Jimenez said.
On Sunday night, as part of the investigation, the CHP was trying to sketch out which vehicles each victim had been traveling in.
Lt. Fred Corral of the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office said investigators “believe from what they found in the vehicle that alcohol was involved.”
After dark on Sunday at the Culbreath home in Fontana, Olivia’s brother Kehtai Culbreath said the family knew little about her condition and did not want to talk about the incident.
“There’s not much to say,” Kehtai Culbreath said. “We’re all still grieving.”
Twitter: @aribloomekatz | Facebook
matt.stevens@latimes.com
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
