The latest in a series of incidents involving wrong-way drivers managed to elude tragedy after a pair of good Samaritans, including a Woodland man, halted the wayward driver.
Events unfolded shortly before 2 p.m. Thursday on Interstate 5 between Woodland and the Yolo Bypass, where motorists notified the California Highway Patrol of a green sedan traveling southbound in the northbound lanes. By the time CHP officers arrived on scene, the vehicle was stopped in the center divider.
The driver, a 74-year-old woman, had been reported missing out of Manteca. She appeared disoriented at the scene and was transported to Sutter Davis Hospital for evaluation, CHP Officer Pedro Leon said in a news release. She was not under the influence of alcohol, he noted.
Leon hailed the actions of the two good Samaritans, Jose G. Garcia of Woodland and Stephen L. Riddick of Fair Oaks, for their efforts to stop the vehicle.
According to Leon, they had been traveling northbound on I-5 and, upon encountering the wrong-way driver, “basically blocked her path. They assisted in moving (her) vehicle into the center divider and removed the keys from the vehicle.”
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene