A devastating wrong-way crash occurred early Tuesday morning on California’s Interstate 405, resulting in one fatality and a severely damaged vehicle.
The incident also involved two other cars and led to the closure of the busy highway near Hawthorne for nearly four hours.
Around 1 a.m., emergency responders received a report about a black sedan heading south in the northbound HOV lane, according to records from the California Highway Patrol. Initially, it was believed that five vehicles were involved, though it was later corrected to three.
One car erupted in flames, while the other two sustained damage. A SigAlert was issued shortly after 1 a.m., leading to traffic being redirected to Inglewood Avenue, a situation that lasted until 5:12 a.m.
Firefighters were seen inspecting the wreckage, and a coroner arrived to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death. A bystander named Jose recounted witnessing two passengers in the wrecked vehicle—a man and a woman. Tragically, the woman was pronounced dead at the scene, while the man was taken to the hospital.
“I stopped to help, and there was a fire. I tried to put it out and looked for any signs of life, but he didn’t make it,” he stated. “Then I noticed another person, I think it was her brother, who seemed in shock and left.”
The identity of the deceased has yet to be determined, and the man hospitalized remains unconscious. The exact reason the black sedan was driving the wrong way on the highway is still unclear.
Both Caltrans and the Los Angeles Police Department have been called in to assist with the ongoing investigation, which seems to have had minimal impact on morning commuter traffic.
