A 52-year-old woman was killed early Tuesday after a wrong-way driver entered Interstate 5 in Carmel Valley, crashing head-on with another car.
The California Highway Patrol said the deadly crash was reported near the off-ramp to State Route 56. A 42-year-old man driving the wrong way on the southbound lanes of I-5 in a Dodge Magnum collided with a white Honda Civic that was traveling south, according to CHP.
After the collision, a Ford pickup truck driven by a 32-year-old man traveling southbound on the freeway crashed into the Dodge.
CHP said a 52-year-old woman, whose name was not released, was a passenger in the Honda and died of her injuries. Meanwhile, the vehicle's driver and another passenger suffered major injuries.
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The drivers of the Ford and Dodge also suffered major injuries, authorities added.
It is unclear if drugs or alcohol played a factor in the crash.
Traffic in the immediate area was at a standstill for hours while authorities cleared the lanes. All lanes have since been reopened.
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The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on the collision is encouraged to contact CHP's San Diego Area Special Investigations Unit at (858) 293-6000.