Wrong-way driver killed in Antioch in 4-car crash after chase with deputies
Wrong-way driver dies in crash on Antioch highway after deputies cancel chase
A driver going the wrong way on the Highway 4-Highway 160 interchange in Antioch was killed in a crash that injured three motorists. The wreck happened minutes after Contra Costa County sheriffs deputies said they had stopped chasing the driver.
ANTIOCH, Calif. - The California Highway Patrol is investigating what happened when a wrong-way driver was killed when they crashed into oncoming traffic in Antioch after being chased by Contra Costa County sheriff's deputies.
As a result, eastbound Highway 4 near the Antioch Bridge was shut down on Wednesday morning.
The CHP reported that four cars crashed at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, including a Lexus that was involved in a pursuit with deputies moments earlier.
The Lexus driver, identified as Victor Vigil, 50, of Pittsburg, ended up driving the wrong way on the Highway 4-Highway 160 connector, heading south in the northbound lanes, authorities said.
"It crashed head on," said CHP Officer Daniel Gilmore. "This crash led to a series of crashes."
Vigil died at the scene after slamming into a Mercedes, authorities said.
The Mercedes driver was airlifted to the hospital.
Then, two other cars ended up crashing into the wreck; a Honda and Dodge Durango. Two people went to the hospital, but the driver of the Honda was not hurt, the CHP said.
Wrong-way driver dead in Antioch after chase with deputies
A wrong-way driver was killed in Antioch after a chase with Contra Costa County sheriff's deputies.
Gilmore said that Contra Costa County sheriff's deputies were not chasing the Lexus driver at the moment it crashed.
But KTVU has learned deputies had tried to stop the Lexus for an unspecified traffic violation near East 18th Street and Willow Avenue, and the driver refused to stop.
The sheriff's office on Wednesday wrote on social media that deputies "terminated a pursuit" on Highway 160 after the driver crossed the divider and drove in the opposite direction.
A "short time later," the sheriff's office said the crash occurred.
The Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office and the sheriff's office are conducting the investigation.
KTVU spoke to the daughter of the Mercedes driver, who asked not to be identified.
But she did say her mother was injured and taken to the ICU as a result of being hit by the wrong-way driver and has several broken bones in her arms and legs.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and the CHP have been pushing Oakland, for example, to loosen its police chase policies to be able to pursue suspects of a wide variety of crimes, not just violent ones.
Critics of these looser policies point to deadly crashes as a reason not to relax the chase rules.
CHP officer investigates deadly wrong-way crash after driver chased by Contra Costa County sheriff's deputies. April 22, 2025
One of four cars involved in deadly Antioch crash. April 22, 2025
Mangled Lexus involved in deadly wrong-way crash after driver chased by Contra Costa County sheriff's deputies. April 22, 2025
CHP officer investigates deadly wrong-way crash after driver chased by Contra Costa County sheriff's deputies. April 22, 2025