Fatal 2 Vehicle Collision Outside of Gonzales on Highway 101 on June 18

 

According to the Monterey-CHP, on Sunday, June 18 at approximately 3:34 am Monterey Communication Center received a call of a multi-vehicle crash that occurred on US-101 in the area of Gloria Road which was later determined to be just south of 5th Street south of Gonzales. It was reported that the roadway was covered with debris, and the involved vehicles had significant damage. CHP Units arrived on-scene and determined this was a head-on crash involving a wrong-way driver. 

An initial investigation suggests that a red 2004 Dodge Neon was traveling northbound in the southbound lanes and crashed into a black 2015 Honda Civic. The Dodge Neon was located in the center median and the Honda Civic was located on the right shoulder. 

The driver of the Dodge Neon was found dead, pinned within the driver seat, while a rear passenger was discovered dead on the ground and had been ejected. The right front passenger and a second rear passenger were transported for major injuries. One passenger in the Dodge Neon was semi-coherent and said that he and his friends were traveling from a bar in Soledad. 

In the Honda Civic, the driver was pinned in the driver seat with multiple leg fractures, and a female passenger was out of the vehicle complaining of pain. Both occupants were transported to Natividad Medical Center (NMC) in Salinas. 

Traffic was initially flowing slowly through the scene but was stopped for safety reasons so medical personnel could extract the occupants from the center median and right shoulder. 

CHP units diverted southbound US-101 traffic onto 5th Street in the city of Gonzales. Traffic was diverted westbound on 5th Street, then southbound on Alta Street, which leads directly to the Gloria Road on-ramp to southbound US-101. 

Southbound US-101 traffic remained closed for extraction efforts by fire personnel to remove the driver of the Dodge Neon, and for evidence collection.