A California Highway Patrol officer intentionally crashed into a wrong-way driver on Highway 101 Wednesday night, likely preventing serious injury or death to other motorists in the area.
The officer was unhurt in the collision. The driver, 85-year-old Inglewood resident Maria Hernandez, was transported to Cottage Hospital with chest pain. Alcohol and drugs were not a factor in the incident, a CHP spokesperson said.
At approximately 2 a.m., dispatchers received calls of a wrong-way driver headed southbound in the northbound lanes of Highway 101 near El Capitan State Beach.
In an attempt to stop Hernandez, two CHP units with emergency lights and sirens activated positioned themselves in the number one and two lanes south of Dos Pueblos, but she made no effort to slow down and passed by them.
After a third unit was also unsuccessful, a fourth positioned themselves north of Cathedral Oaks.
“As the wrong-way vehicle approached, the CHP officer turned the patrol vehicle and intentionally rammed the wrong-way vehicle in order to prevent the vehicle from continuing wrong-way,” the CHP said in a statement.
“This action potentially saved the motoring public from possible injuries and/or death.”
Hernandez has been charged with driving on the wrong side of the road, a misdemeanor.
