A woman was killed and three other people were injured in a wrong-way crash in Fullerton Wednesday morning, officials said.
The crash was reported about 10:05 a.m. at the intersection of Magnolia Avenue and Valencia Drive, Fullerton Police Lt. Jon Radus said.
An investigation revealed that a Chevrolet Silverado veered into oncoming traffic as the driver was heading north. The truck crashed into a Toyota Corolla traveling south, officials said. The force caused the Silverado to flip, striking a Ford Edge that was also heading south. The Corolla then spun and struck a Nissan Altima, police said in a news release.
A 21-year-old woman and her 18-year-old passenger were stuck in the Corolla and had to be extricated.
They were taken to a hospital, where the driver died, police said. She has not been identified.
A 50-year-old man in the Edge and a 36-year-old man in the Silverado were also taken to a hospital with critical injuries.
A 57-year-old man in the Altima was not taken to a hospital.
Video from the scene showed the badly damaged vehicles and Orange County Fire Authority firefighters having to saw open the Toyota as traffic investigators with Fullerton police assessed the aftermath of the crash.
Police had received reports of a Silverado driver traveling erratically before the crash, Radu said.
“I think he knew it was his fault,” a man named Pedro who runs a nearby auto shop and helped rescue the Silverado driver from the scene told KTLA.
Investigators are working to determine if alcohol and/or drugs were a factor.
The intersection was closed for hours during the investigation.
Anyone with further information about the crash can call Investigator H. Barclay at 714-738-6815.