A 46-year-old Vallejo man died early Friday morning following a head-on crash on Interstate Highway 80 near Pinole Valley Road caused by a wrong-way driver, the California Highway Patrol said.
The crash occurred at about 12:35 a.m. when a 2015 Toyota Camry driven by a 78-year-old Concord woman was heading west in the eastbound lanes of Highway 80 and slammed into a 2007 Ford Focus heading east on the highway, the CHP said.
Both drivers suffered major injuries in the crash. A 39-year-old female passenger in the Focus, a Vallejo resident, suffered minor injuries, CHP officials said.
The driver of the Focus, who was trapped in the wreckage, had to be pulled out of his car by firefighters on the scene. Both drivers were taken to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, the CHP said, where the 46-year-old Vallejo man was pronounced dead. The Concord woman remained hospitalized Monday morning with moderate, but not life-threatening injuries, according to the CHP.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash.
The Contra Costa County Coroner’s Office was still working late Friday morning on establishing the identity of the man killed, a spokesman said.
The 78-year-old woman, whose name was not immediately available, had earlier been reported to Concord police as missing, the CHP said.
The fatal crash remains under investigation. The CHP asks that anyone who saw the collision, the wrong-way Toyota before the crash or any events leading up to the collision, contact its Martinez office at (925) 646-4980.
28 comments
Anyone over 65 should have to pass a driving test once a year.
Agreed
They would have to build a special dmv for that to happen. A family member should take a ride with older people and turn them in if they can’t handle it. This woman had more problems than driving evidently.
How far away from 65 are you. Take my word it comes up fast.
Many UNDER 65 should also be tested more frequently, judging from the behavior I see daily.
I would agree, except that in MANY tragic cases, the driver has already had their license revoked, or they were never granted a license to begin with, or they are severely impaired at the moment…
ANYONE can grab a key and get behind the wheel. NO amount of testing can change that fact.
Our only choice is to become adept at OFFENSIVE driving: ALWAYS be vigilant, NEVER assume that another vehicle will yield to your right-of-way…drive as safe and smart as possible.
I do, however, think the state should create some sort of rebate or tax deduction program to allow those over 65 to affordably purchase vehicles with autopilot features such as lane assist, self-parking, etc. Just a thought…
Why bother? Two different people from the same house down the street committed hit and run on my street last year. Neither had insurance. At least one already has 2 felonies. Concord PD did not charge either one for these crimes or even bother to fill out a police report.
Liberals own this ‘accident’ and much of the increase in crime we experience, no matter how much they try to hide it or pretend that it doesn’t exist.
They give illegals a driver’s license even if they cannot even read English.
@Bill, my dad was driving at 92, he had his license taken away, he was driving and got lost, thankfully no one was hurt. Once you turn 90 you have to go back every year and take the driving test he got a perfect score each time.
Wrong!! I’m over 65 and never had a ticket or accident…try again!!
Sounds like she may have dementia since she was reported missing. She took the car and became disoriented. Such a tragedy. Prayers for both families.
ZZ….. my intuition leads me to the same speculation as yours.
One of my neighbors told me that the hardest thing she had to do was hide the truck keys from her ALZ father. He had sets hidden.
Fact. She had dementia
Fact. She took the car
This is what happened. Fact
@AuntBarbara A 78 year old woman reported missing was found in a car wreck driving into oncoming traffic at 12:35 am. What 78 year old is driving around at 12:35 in the morning especially on the highway?Yes, sounds like it could be a person with dementia. Just going by experience, happened to a friend of mines mother years ago. It’s speculation, like @ Antler said.
Spot on ZZ !! Dollars to Doughnuts that’ what happened
Taking the keys away from mom or dad is a difficult thing, sometimes. Both of my parents did it voluntarily, because their physical condition made driving dangerous. My grandfather spit bullets when it happened to him, and it took all four of his children to prevent him from climbing into the driver’s seat.
A friend’s mom had dementia, yet was still able to find the “other” set of keys on several occasions. Got lost but didn’t hurt anyone, thank God. Legally, it is not easy for family members to keep a loved one from driving if they don’t cooperate, the same way you can’t force a family member who is mentally ill to take their medication.
A terrible tragedy.
the dmv takes money from anyone who will pay
they dont care if they can drive
democrat controlled and proud of it
just go there and watch for 5 minutes
Its too bad the person who started this mess didnt die. RIP for the deceased passenger.
Burn the Witch!
Seatbelts?
Actually, statistics show that drivers in their 20s have the greatest number of fatal crashes.
“This study proves that young adults in their early 20s are actually more dangerous behind the wheel than teens and older drivers.”
https://www.autoinsurance.org/age-groups-fatal-crashes/
“Motor vehicle crash fatalities were higher for males than females in all age groups, while the male population is equal to or less than the female population in all age groups.”
“Three age groups, 16 to 20, 21 to 25, and over 65, had more crash fatalities than other age groups among males.”
https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/810853
Tragic, and I suspect it wasn’t due to a simple mistake.
The driver license requirements are a bad joke at best. That little card from the DMV is really a transportation appliance operator permit that doesn’t say you know how to drive. There should be periodic mandatory testing of all drivers that requires that they demonstrate that they can DRIVE. A reasonable test should include emergency/evasive maneuvers, maximum braking and skid control. The test frequency should vary depending on age and other factors, something like an initial test, a re-test 5 years later, then maybe every 10 years until something like age 60 or 65, then every 5 years until maybe 80, then every 2-3 years. A side benefit of this is that there would be no need for HOV lanes, as there wouldn’t be enough traffic the justify them due to getting all of the incompetent drivers off of the road. There would also be fewer accidents and speed limits could be raised where practical. The testing would cost a lot more than the current process, but the cost to society of getting the bad drivers off of the road would be significantly reduced and the testing requirement would require people to improve their driving skills, which would be a benefit to all.
When driving on the freeway late at night I always drive in the right hand lanes. Never in the left faster lanes. People driving the wrong way tend to drive in the left lane wrongly thinking they are in the right hand slow lane.
Testing all drivers will not get bad drivers off the road. If they can’t pass the test, they’ll just drive without a license. Which means they’ll probably drive uninsured as well. We have enough of that already.
There will certainly be an increase in what you describe. Law enforcement will have to be stepped up, along with increased penalties for breaking the two laws.
No mention if alcohol was suspected as a cause.
Because it was dementia.
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