A wrong-way driver allegedly set the stage Thursday morning for a three-vehicle crash that killed three people on the 91 Freeway in Riverside.
The deadly situation began at 2:01 a.m. when witnesses reported a vehicle being driven at a high rate of speed eastbound in westbound lanes of the Riverside Freeway east of University Avenue, according to the California Highway Patrol.
At 2:02 a.m., a witness reported three vehicles — a black sedan, a big rig and an SUV — were involved in a collision east of 14th Street.
Video from the scene showed a black sedan or small SUV with a mangled front end and a yellow tarp over the driver’s side. It was facing the wrong way in lanes.
The video also showed a big rig in the right lane and a crushed, light-colored SUV against K-rail on the shoulder.
A CHP dispatcher confirmed three people died at the scene.
A news videographer at the scene said a fourth person was taken to a hospital by ambulance with unknown injuries.
Only the HOV lane is open to traffic on the westbound side as CHP officers investigate the crash and arrange for Caltrans to clean up debris scattered across lanes.