Last Updated on August 10, 2018 by CCAR Staff
Two women were killed early Friday, Aug. 10, when a wrong-way driver slammed into their car on the 91 Freeway in Riverside, according to the California Highway Patrol. The errant driver was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence and could face other charges.
That driver’s name was not immediately announced. He was the only person in that car, CHP Sgt. Bryan Arendt said. A third person in the other car, a man, was hospitalized with major injuries.
The dead women were identified as Ethel Granados, 74, of San Bernardino, and Fatima Granados, 52, of Riverside.
CHP dispatchers began receiving calls around 1:45 a.m. about a small sedan heading west in the eastbound lanes, Officer Marcelo Llerena said.
“About three minutes, later we received calls that the vehicle actually collided head-on with another vehicle,” he said. The collision happened between Central and Arlington avenues.
Most of the eastbound lanes were shut down for several hours. All lanes were open just before 5 a.m.
Arendt recommended staying out of the left lane late at night to guard against wrong-way drivers.
“Because when impaired drivers do get on to the freeway and they go the wrong way, a lot of times they end up traveling on the right side of the roadway (for that driver),” Arendt said.
