Wrong-way driver fleeing police causes head-on collision on Bay Area freeway

A woman fleeing Contra Costa Sheriff’s deputies in a high-speed chase turned onto Highway 4 near Concord on Saturday night, hitting another vehicle head-on and causing a collision that closed all four lanes of the road police said.

The accident occurred at 6:13 p.m. in the eastbound lanes of Highway 4 between Highway 242 and Willow Pass Road.

The woman was driving a white Honda Civic, said CHP spokesman Dan Gilmore. When she sped down the freeway into oncoming traffic, it became chaotic.

“The vehicle went westbound in the eastbound lanes,” he said. “It struck several vehicles — a Nissan and a silver Honda. It sideswiped both of those vehicles. Then it hit a Jeep Grand Cherokee head on.”

Nobody was injured in the first two vehicles that were sideswiped, he said. When the woman’s car hit the Jeep, her vehicle flipped over. The driver of the Jeep suffered minor injuries.

A male adult passenger fled from the wrecked Civic on foot and was caught and arrested by police, Gilmore said. The woman was arrested at the scene.

Gilmore said he did not know why Contra Costa sheriff’s deputies were chasing the woman or why she drove the wrong way down the highway. He said drugs and alcohol appeared not to have been involved.

The Contra Costa sheriff’s office did not immediately return calls Saturday night seeking more information.

All four lanes of the road were closed after the accident, causing a major traffic jam. Police were able to open several lanes, and eventually all four lanes around 7 p.m.