Escondido

A Seattle couple were killed Monday when the car in which they were passengers collided head-on with another vehicle traveling in the wrong direction on Interstate 15, authorities reported. The driver of the wrong-way car was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.

Noemi Del Rosario, 56, and her husband, Ben, 60, died instantly from multiple injuries suffered at 1:16 a.m. half a mile south of Felicita Road, said Bill Leard of the coroner’s office.

Florencia Cacho, 71, of San Diego, a relative of the Del Rosarios and the driver of the vehicle, was listed in serious condition Monday afternoon at Palomar Memorial Hospital with a concussion and a bruised chest, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Cacho’s car, which was going south in the fast lane, was struck head-on by a vehicle traveling north in the same lane, California Highway Patrol Officer Alicia Contreras said.

Nobora Takashima, 71, of Chula Vista, the driver of the second car, was listed in serious condition at Palomar Hospital with a head injury, fractured ribs and a lacerated liver, authorities said.

Takashima was arrested by the CHP on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, felony driving under the influence of alcohol and driving on the wrong side of the road, Contreras said. He is under police guard at the hospital.