CHP: 21-year-old dies in wrong-way crash in Tulare County

TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A man is dead after a driver was driving the wrong way and collided with another car on a highway in Tulare County, according to the California Highway Patrol.

CHP says on Wednesday, at approximately 3:10 a.m., they received a call regarding a wrong-way driver in the area of Highway 99 north of Betty Drive in Tulare County.

According to CHP, officers from the Visalia Area responded to the scene and located a two-vehicle collision that occurred as a result of a wrong-way driver.

CHP says a man out of Fresno, identified as 20-year-old Saul Saldana Armenta, was driving a 2015 Dodge Charger southbound in the northbound lanes of Highway 99 approaching Betty Drive.

Officers say the driver who was driving the wrong way in the number one lane ended up colliding with a 2022 Honda Civic driven by a 21-year-old man from Porterville.

According to CHP, the 21-year-old suffered fatal injuries.

In a GoFundMe, the 21-year-old is identified as Lisandro Santos.

CHP says alcohol appears to be a factor in this collision since Armenta was arrested under suspicion of driving under the influence.

This is an ongoing investigation.