The man who drove against traffic and crashed head-on into a fire engine, injuring two firefighters and killing himself, has been identified.
Rodrigo Cano Martin, 41 of San Diego, was traveling the wrong way on Interstate 5 at State Route 94 Thursday morning when he slammed into San Diego Fire-Rescue engine 11.
Engine 11 was responding to a pedestrian hit-and-run crash at about 2 a.m. when Martin slammed his Toyota Carolla into it, CHP said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
CHP said four firefighters were taken to UC San Diego Medical Center and evaluated for their injuries. SDFD spokesperson Monica Munoz said that while two of their crew members suffered minor injuries, none required hospitalization.
The crew would return to duty for their next shift, Munoz said.
At the scene, the Toyota was crumpled from impact and debris was strewn across the freeway from the grisly crash.
Southbound I-5 was shut down as CHP officers investigated the crash. Lanes were reopened before 5:30 a.m.
CHP said Martin may have been stopped in traffic due to the pedestrian crash on I-5 at Imperial Avenue and decided to turn around and drive the opposite direction on the I-5.
CHP Sgt. Brent Lowrey said a wrong-way crash is one of the worst types of accidents they see on freeways. He cautioned drivers to always heed emergency personnel warnings and signals even if it means having to wait.
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"Don’t be impatient. If there’s an emergency in front of you and the freeway is shut down, it’s shut down for good reason," Lowrey said. "Ultimately, slow down, stop if you have to. If the road’s blocked, the roads blocked. Just sit and wait."
No other information was available.
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