IRVINE — A woman was killed and four people were injured in a wrong-way crash on the San Diego (405) Freeway on Nov. 7, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A Gardena resident, identified by the Orange County Coroner’s Office as Rieko Toyama, 54, was going south in her 2010 Nissan in the northbound carpool lane and hit a 2014 BMW head-on near Harvard Avenue.
The Nissan rolled over — partially ejecting Toyama, who was not wearing a seatbelt — and was hit by a 2008 Mercedes-Benz. Toyama died at the scene, the CHP said.
The driver of the BMW, Hassan Kadri, 29, of Westminster, and his passenger, Sabina Teodorescu, 29, of Fountain Valley, were taken to UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange, while Westminster residents Isabelo Millanar, 74, and Zosima Millanar, 71, who were in the Mercedes, were taken to Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, according to the CHP.
The Orange County Register quoted officials as saying they did not know how long Toyama was driving the wrong way on the freeway before the crash and did not know if alcohol or drugs were a factor.