The driver of a 1995 Jeep has been identified and arrested following a large accident Thursday morning.
The accident occurred along Highway 17 close to Los Gatos on February 20 around 1:00 a.m.
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The California Highway Patrol and the Santa Clara County Fire Department were called to the scene. Reports indicate that the Jeep Wrangler was traveling south in the northbound lanes.
The Jeep then crashed into a 2017 Acura in the fast lane of the highway. The Acura had a total of four people inside.
The impact caused the Jeep to flip and the driver was ejected out onto the road. The driver was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident.
At this point, the car had caught fire and was completely engulfed. A 2007 Yamaha motorcycle that was on the roadway began to skid due to debris from the accident on the road.
The motorcycle rider ended up losing control and was thrown from the motorcycle.
Upon arrival, the Santa Clara County Fire Department wasted no time extinguishing the engulfed car.
Emergency personnel transported all 6 people involved in the accident to the hospital for treatment of their injuries. The motorcycle rider and the driver of the Jeep were said to have major injuries, but those in the Acura only sustained minor ones.
The driver of the Jeep was identified as Capitola resident, 33-year-old Alex Waddle. Upon release from the hospital, he will be taken into the custody of the police. He is facing charges for driving under the influence, which caused the horrific accident.
This is not the first wrong-way collision that Highway 17 has seen. Last month a woman from San Jose drove over 5 miles in the wrong direction and was killed in a collision.
Traffic along Highway 17 had to be diverted during reconstruction and clean up processes. The total time was around 2 hours.
The California Highway Patrol is still investigating the accident.