Wrong Way Driver Prompts 55 Freeway Closure

COSTA MESA, CA — An hours-long Sigalert was cancelled Tuesday after a wrong way driver crashed into a center divider on the 55 Costa Mesa Freeway.

Before 4:30 a.m., a driver was headed northbound in the southbound lanes of the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway before the crash that prompted the closure of a stretch of the freeway.

Though it was unclear where the driver began the wrong-way journey, the closure was in effect at the 55 Freeway and the Baker Street exit, California Highway Patrol said.

No one was injured in the single vehicle crash, officials said.

All southbound lanes of the freeway were briefly stopped before a SigAlert was issued for the Nos. 1 and 2 lanes of the Costa Mesa Freeway at Paularino Avenue until shortly after 6 a.m., when all lanes were reopened, according to the CHP.