Two Women Die In Wrong-Way Crash On 91 Freeway In Corona

CORONA (CNS) – Two women are dead following a wrong-way crash on the Riverside (91) Freeway in Corona, the California Highway Patrol said Monday. The fatal collision happened shortly before 4 a.m. Sunday on the eastbound 91, just east of Interstate 15, according to the CHP. "The driver of a 2019 Honda Accord entered the freeway traveling westbound in eastbound lanes at a high rate of speed," Officer Javier Navarro told City News Service. Navarro said the motorist, identified only as a 24-year-old Riverside- area woman, steered her Honda into the HOV lane, in Riverside, heading toward Corona. Multiple drivers called 911 as the Honda sped by them, reporting that the sedan was going roughly 90 mph, according to the CHP. The wrong-way driver continued in the HOV lane for nearly five minutes before colliding head-on with a Toyota Corolla, Navarro said. The crash brought the entire eastbound side of the freeway to a stop, though no other vehicles were involved. Corona Fire Department crews reached the location within a few minutes and found the Toyota driver, 22-year-old Jennifer Cardenas of Riverside, fatally injured. The Honda driver was also pronounced dead at the scene. Her passenger, identified only as a 23-year-old woman, suffered minor injuries in the wreck and was taken to a regional trauma center for treatment. The entire eastbound 91 was shut down at the location for almost three hours, the CHP said. Navarro said an autopsy was pending on the Honda driver. It was not yet known whether alcohol or drugs may have been factors in the collision. Copyright 2023, City News Service, Inc.