The westbound 10 Freeway in Santa Monica was shut down early Friday after a suspected drunk driver drove the wrong way and hit another car, killing one person and injuring several others, officials said.

The freeway is shut down until further notice, the California Highway Patrol said.

The crash happened around 1:15 a.m. near the Centinela Avenue exit and the 405 Freeway, the CHP said.

Authorities said a drunk driver in a red Pontiac or Ford Mustang was driving east in the westbound lanes when he hit a black sedan, possibly a Lincoln.


The wrong-way driver’s car careened off the freeway and rolled down an embankment, where firefighters had to eventually cut the driver free, officials said. He was taken into custody and appeared uninjured, according to the CHP.

“We were going to Santa Monica and then we saw a vehicle coming the wrong direction and we swerved,” Stephanie Mejia told KTLA. “Our friend was right behind us, so it hit them and it made the car turn. I ran back to all my friends, and all three of them were out except one.”

Mejia said she was a friend of the person killed.

“We were trying to pull him out and when he was halfway, a car came and it hit him again and it blew out, it blew up,” she said.


The crash was one of two to shut down major Los Angeles freeways Friday morning.

Just before 3 a.m., a big rig slammed into a disabled vehicle on the southbound 405 Freeway at Rosecrans and overturned, officials said. Two people were killed.

As a result, one lane of the roadway and the Rosecrans offramp will be closed until 10 a.m., said CHP Officer Patrick Kimball.

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joseph.serna@latimes.com


@josephserna