Wrong-way driver dies in crash on I-880 in Fremont

FREMONT, Calif. -- A car crash in Fremont killed a 22-year-old woman early this morning after she reportedly drove in the wrong direction on Interstate Highway 880, crashing head-on into a pickup truck, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The first call reporting a driver headed north in the southbound lanes of I-880 near the Auto Mall Parkway came in to the CHP just after 12:30 a.m. By 12:34 a.m. another caller had reported the crash, near Thornton Avenue.

When officers arrived on scene a 1999 Volvo was on fire with the driver, a 22-year-old Santa Clara woman, trapped inside. Efforts to put the fire out were unsuccessful, and the driver died as a result of the crash and subsequent fire, CHP officials said.

Authorities have not yet released the identity of the victim, pending notification of next of kin.

Three people in the Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck also suffered major injuries in the collision. The driver has been identified as a 26-year-old man from East Palo Alto.

Fremont Fire's Acting Deputy Chief, Amiel Thurston, said that when firefighters arrived at the scene of the crash the pickup was also at risk for going up in flames.

"When you've got two vehicles next to each other in an accident and one's on fire, it has the potential of catching the other one on fire," Thurston said.

Firefighters cleared the scene by 1:46 a.m., according to Thurston.

The CHP issued a Sig-Alert around 1 a.m., with only one southbound lane of traffic open. All lanes had been reopened by 4:20 a.m.

This morning's crash remains under investigation, and drugs or alcohol have not been ruled out as a factor, according to the CHP.