Three people fatally injured in a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 10 in Coachella caused by a motorist driving the wrong way on the freeway were identified Thursday.
Lizeth Duran Martinez and Meliton Perez Dominguez, both 39 of Phoenix, were killed, along with 71-year-old Guillermo Ocampo Bahena of Orange, at 10 p.m. Tuesday on eastbound I-10 near Dillon Road, according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP officials said Bahena was at the wheel of a Toyota Camry that entered the eastbound lanes of the freeway going westbound.
“The reason why the Toyota was driving the wrong way is still under investigation,” the CHP said.
While traveling at an unconfirmed speed in the fast lane, Bahena’s Toyota slammed head-on into a Honda Accord, according to investigators.
No other vehicles were involved.
Riverside County Fire Department personnel reached the location a short time later and extricated the two occupants of the Honda — Dominguez and Martinez — as well as Bahena in the Toyota.
All of the parties were pronounced dead at the scene.
“Alcohol or drugs are not suspected to be factors in the crash,” the CHP stated.
An autopsy was pending on Bahena Thursday.
Anyone with information relevant to the investigation was asked to contact the Indio CHP office at 760-772-5300.