2 killed in wrong-way collision in Pacifica

Two people were killed early Saturday in a collision caused by a wrongway driver on Highway 1 in Pacifica.

Northbound lanes were shut down for nearly five hours, authorities said. They reopened about 9:30 a.m.

Officers received a call at 4:13 a.m. that the driver of a Toyota Prius was going southbound in the northbound lanes of Highway 1 near Clarendon Road, said Officer Bert Diaz, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol.

At 4:18 a.m., officers received a second call that there was a head-on collision involving the Toyota and a Chevrolet Silverado, which was traveling north on Highway 1, Diaz said.

A passenger, a man in his 20s or 30s, was ejected from the Toyota and pronounced dead at the scene. His name was not released. Investigators believe he was not wearing a seat belt when the crash occurred, Diaz said.

Another passenger in the Toyota was also pronounced dead at the scene. The victim was described as a woman in her 20s or 30s.

The man who was driving the Toyota was transported to San Francisco General Hospital, where he was in critical condition. Authorities believe he also was not wearing a seat belt, Diaz said.

The two male occupants of the Chevrolet pickup truck also were transported to the hospital with injuries that were not considered lifethreatening.

Authorities are investigating whether drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash.

The collision came six days after two people were killed and nine others were injured in a crash involving a wrongway driver on Highway 101 in San Francisco. That wrong-way driver struck two cars before plowing into a minivan carrying seven people just south of Cesar Chavez Street.

The minivan operator, identified as Waheedullah Etimad, 40, of Concord, was killed in the crash. The wrong-way driver, identified as Kayla Wilson, 21, of San Jose, also was killed.