LAKESIDE -- Two Pacific Northwest residents were recovering Friday from injuries they suffered in a Lakeside-area freeway collision caused by a suspected drunken driver who was killed in the wreck.
The accident occurred shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday, when a 22-year-old San Diego woman drove the wrong way up an exit ramp from eastbound Interstate 8 to Los Coches Road in a silver 2002 Infiniti G20, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Near the top of the connector, the car smashed into an oncoming black 2015 Jeep Patriot, causing it to overturn and come to rest on its side in a median.
The driver of the Infiniti, who was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, where she was pronounced dead about 9:15 p.m., the CHP reported. Her name was withheld pending family notification.
Emergency crews had to free the occupants of the Jeep -- a 68-year-old man and a 66-year-old woman, both from Stanwood, Washington -- from the crumpled vehicle. Medics took them to Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa for treatment of minor to moderately serious injuries.
The accident forced a full closure of eastbound I-8 for about 45 minutes, according to the CHP.
