CHP ID’s Man Who Drove Wrong Way On I-15 Near Rainbow Killing Young CA Woman

RAINBOW, CA. (THECOUNT) — Jacob Rodriguez of Lake Elsinore, CA, has been identified as the man who drove a white Hyundai Elantra the wrong way on the southbound lanes of Interstate 15 around 11:15 p.m. Friday.

Rodriguez, 23, eventually collided head-on with a gray Honda Civic driven by Jessica Neumeyer of Murrieta, according to the CHP officials.

The wrong way drive ended with two vehicles colliding head-on in the left lane of southbound I-15 near Rainbow Valley Boulevard, the Medical Examiner’s Office said.

Authorities Thursday identified a 23-year-old man who killed himself and another driver when he collided with the 20-year-old woman’s car while driving the wrong way on Interstate 15 near Rainbow. Dispatchers received a call just after 11 p.m. Friday reporting that the Hyundai had entered I-15 at Deer Springs Road, traveling north in the southbound lanes, CHP Officer Mark Latulippe said. An officer from the CHP’s Oceanside office started a traffic break near state Route 76 in an effort to stop the wrong-way driver. The Hyundai did not stop for the traffic break and continued heading the wrong direction at a high speed, Latulippe said. source

Neumeyer was pronounced dead at the scene and Rodriguez was transported to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, where he was pronounced dead at 4:51 a.m. Saturday, the Medical Examiner’s Office said.

Alcohol or other drugs were suspected to have played a part in the crash, which remained under investigation.

Rainbow is a census designated place in northern San Diego County in the U.S. state of California. The population was 1,832 at the 2010 census, down from 2,026 at the 2000 census, according to Wikipedia.