FRESNO, Calif. (KMJ/KFSN) — A 64-year-old man is dead after he crashed driving the wrong way on a Fresno highway, killing a 73-year-old woman.
The California Highway Patrol says the crash happened Saturday just before 7:20 a.m. on southbound Highway 99 near Shaw Avenue.
Officers say 64-year-old Paul Weldon of Fresno was driving a Lexus sedan northbound in the southbound lanes from the Ashlan Avenue area.
Weldon then collided head-on with a Ford F-150 driven by a 47-year-old man carrying five additional passengers just south of Shaw Avenue.
The impact of the crash sent both cars spinning across the lanes before crashing into a 26-year-old driving a Honda Civic.
Investigators say Weldon suffered critical injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. 73-year-old Mariana Perez Tinajero of Selma, who was in the F-150, also died at the scene.
The remaining passengers were taken to Community Regional Medical Center with injuries ranging from moderate to major.
The driver of the Honda Civic was treated and released at the scene with minor injuries.
It is unclear if alcohol or drugs were involved in the incident. Toxicology results from the Fresno County Coroner’s office are still pending.
