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Wrong-Way Driver On 5 Freeway Terrifies Rush-Hour Drivers

SANTA CLARITA (CBSLA.com) — It was a wild and dangerous scene Wednesday evening when a driver was speeding down the wrong side of the 5 freeway

Cellphone video taken by a stunned witness shows the driver of a car going southbound in the northbound  lanes of the 5 around 5:30 p.m. in Santa Clarita.

In the video, you can see what witnesses say was a PT Cruiser driving between several cars, nearly colliding with them, before picking up speed. Drivers on the freeway had merely seconds to react.

Vincent Contarino was heading northbound when he suddenly saw a CHP officer slam head-on into the vehicle forcing it to a stop.

"The guy was coming the wrong way, and we all doing, ya know, 70," Vincent Contarino said. "He {The CHP officer} went right up into the nose of it, he was pointing his gun at him, telling him to get out of the car. He tried to back up and hit him again, finally got the guy out of the car and he arrested him."

The driver was arrested for suspicion of DUI.

Contarino applauds the CHP for taking quick, and risky action.

"He saved our lives I think."

 

 

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