A wrong-way driver caused a deadly head-on collision on I-35W in Denton early Saturday morning. Two people were killed. Two others were injured.
It happened along I-35W between Crawford Road and FM-2449 near mile marker 81. The northbound lanes of I-35W were shut down for about four hours.
The person driving the Toyota Highlander could not avoid the Honda Accord coming straight on. Police say both drivers died on impact.
The Denton Police Department identified the driver of the Honda Accord as 25-year-old Juan E. De La Cruz, Jr. of Illinois. The driver of the Toyota Highlander was Amy Lynne Morrow, 55, Rhome in Wise County.
"Around 6:20 this morning the Denton Police dispatch started receiving several 9-1-1 telephone calls about a driver going southbound in the northbound lanes of traffic on I-35 W,” explained Officer Orlando Hinojosa. “Soon after that, they started receiving telephone calls of a crash, a major crash, involving four vehicles."
An Inifiniti G 35S and Ford Mustang also wrecked trying to avoid the cars in the head-on crash. Two people were treated and released at a local hospital for minor injuries. The driver of the Infiniti G 35S is Wanda Sue Carter, 41, of Arlington. The driver of the Ford Mustang is Najwa Francisca Lucre, 33, of Ada, Oklahoma.
A crash reconstruction team spent four hours taking photos, measurements and gathering evidence. Police kept northbound I-35 West between Crawford Road and FM 2449 closed until around 10:30 this morning.
Officer Hinojosa said it’s too early to know if alcohol was a factor in the driver going the wrong way on I-35 W.
The names of the victims have not yet been released to the public.
