LONG BEACH, Calif.—A wrong-way driver was killed after he drove a Lexus SUV into traffic, initiating a multi-vehicle crash that injured three other people in Long Beach, authorities said June 9.
The crash was reported shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday on Pacific Coast Highway near Junipero Avenue, according to the Long Beach Police Department.
“Upon arrival, officers located a 2024 Lexus NX250 that had struck a Dodge Challenger and then collided into a Toyota RAV4 and a Jeep Compass,” a police statement said.
Paramedics pronounced the Lexus driver, a 56-year-old Long Beach man, dead at the scene, police said. His name was withheld, pending notification of his relatives.
The man driving the Dodge, along with two men in the Toyota, were taken to hospitals for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
“The preliminary investigation revealed the Lexus was traveling westbound on Pacific Coast Highway in the eastbound lanes of travel,” police said.
“The Lexus collided with a Dodge Challenger head on, and continued driving westbound, striking a Toyota RAV4 and a Jeep Compass before coming to rest on its passenger side. ... Speed, drugs, and alcohol are not believed to be a factor in this collision.”
Traffic was routed away from the area while an investigation was conducted.
