[LEMON GROVE, Calif. Thu Nov. 20, 2:15 a.m.] A wrong-way driver in a Scion sped east in the westbound lanes of State Route 94 early Thursday, forcing oncoming traffic to dodge out of the fast lane before California Highway Patrol officers intercepted the car on North Avenue next to a Burger King in Lemon Grove and arrested the driver on suspicion of DUI.
CHP dispatchers began getting multiple 911 calls around 2:15 a.m. about a vehicle traveling eastbound in the westbound No. 1 lane of SR-94 near downtown San Diego at full freeway speeds. Callers tracked the Scion as it continued east, still in the wrong direction, passing the interchanges with I-15 and I-805 and then heading toward College Avenue.
Radio traffic indicated SDPD’s ABLE helicopter launched to help locate the vehicle from the air and guide ground units along the corridor. On the ground, at least one CHP unit sprinted east in the proper eastbound lanes with lights and siren to get ahead of the threat and gain visual contact.
A SD Slackers photographer driving westbound on SR-94 through La Mesa heard the incident unfolding on a scanner and moved into the No. 2 and No. 3 lanes, slowing to about 40 mph near Massachusetts Avenue. Just after passing the College Avenue exit, the photographer saw the wrong-way Scion charging toward oncoming traffic in the westbound fast lane at freeway speed.
Instead of colliding with traffic, the Scion exited near Broadway and continued onto North Avenue, coming to a stop next to the Burger King on Broadway in Lemon Grove. CHP units quickly converged on the car there and detained the solo female driver.
On scene, the woman appeared cooperative and spoke with officers as they conducted field sobriety tests and a breath test. According to observations at the scene, she failed those tests and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. Officers indicated she could face additional charges, but none were immediately specified.
Despite the high-speed wrong-way run, no crashes or injuries were observed along the route. Wrong-way freeway incidents at full speed frequently end in serious or fatal head-on collisions; in this case, everyone on that stretch of SR-94 got an exceptionally lucky outcome.
