OAKLAND — The driver of a Mercedes-Benz was arrested Saturday while trying to escape through the bushes off Highway 24 after killing a woman in a head-on crash, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Authorities have not identified the suspect, who had been driving the wrong way on the highway’s far left eastbound lane near Shattuck Avenue, the CHP said.
The woman was declared dead at the scene and four other passengers in the Mazda sedan were taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to the CHP.
Officers first responded around 2 a.m. Saturday to a report of a head-on collision on Highway 24. When they arrived, the driver fled from the Mercedes and ran over the highway shoulder into a patch of vegetation.
Multiple officers and a dog searched for and found the suspect, who is now in custody. Alcohol is suspected of being a factor in the collision, the CHP said, and both vehicles were totaled in the crash.
CHP spokesman David Arias advised the public to avoid the “fast” lane of the highway when driving late at night.
“When a drunk driver ramps onto the freeway, they typically want to be in the slow lane,” Arias said. “But when they’re going the wrong way, the slow lane is actually the fast lane — so they believe they’re all the way to the right, when actually they’re all the way to the left.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com