2 die in freeway crash

A Huntington woman entered highway in wrong direction and collided with another car, investigators say.Two people were killed late Sunday in a head-on collision on the Corona del Mar (73) Freeway when one of the drivers was reportedly traveling in the wrong direction.

Belia Padilla, 22, of Huntington Beach, entered the freeway using the Birch Street offramp, according to the California Highway Patrol. After getting onto the freeway, she drove north in the southbound lanes.

Padilla accelerated her 2001 Honda Accord to freeway speed before crashing into a 1997 Chevrolet Blazer driven by Nathaniel Jacobs, 21, of San Diego.

Highway Patrol Officer Marco DeGennaro described the crash as “pretty scary, a head-on at 60, 65 [mph].”

Padilla and Jacobs were both killed in the crash. No one else was injured, DeGennaro said. Jacobs’ Blazer caught fire; however, preliminary investigation indicates that he died on impact.

The crash remained under investigation Monday. Officials have not determined whether drugs or alcohol were a factor. 20051013io63whknDOUGLAS ZIMMERMAN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Investigators examine personal belongings from a Honda Accord involved in a deadly accident on the Corona del Mar (73) Freeway on Sunday night. The Honda was driven by a Huntington Beach woman, Belia Padilla, 22, who entered the freeway in the wrong direction and collided with a Chevrolet Blazer. 20051013io63x7knDOUGLAS ZIMMERMAN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Police officers and firefighters remove the body of Nathaniel Jacobs, 21, of San Diego from the Chevrolet Blazer he was driving. His vehicle was hit head-on by a Honda Accord that was traveling in the wrong direction on the southbound 73 Freeway near the Irvine-Campus exit on Sunday night. Both drivers died.