Head-on collision kills 2, injures 2 others in San Mateo County Friday

LA HONDA – A man and woman in their 60s were killed after a wrong-way driver hit their vehicle head-on near La Honda Friday evening, authorities said.

Shortly after 5 p.m., a man driving a white BMW M4 was traveling the wrong direction on Highway 84 — headed eastbound in the westbound lane — when he collided with a gray Ford Taurus on a tight, blind turn, according to California Highway Patrol.

The BMW’s sole occupant, who is from Australia, was not familiar with the winding, two-lane roadway, Officer David LaRock said.

The man has not been in the United States long, which LaRock said prompted the CHP to conclude that he may have thought he was driving on the correct side of the road. Australian motorists sit in the right front seat and drive on the left side of the road, as they do in the United Kingdom and many former British colonies.

A male passenger in the back seat of the Taurus was declared dead at the scene, just east of Peek-A-Boo Lane. The three other passengers were taken to Stanford Medical Center, where the woman who also was riding in the back seat of the Taurus was declared dead. CHP could not confirm whether the victims were wearing seatbelts.

LaRock said all four passengers of the Taurus lived nearby, and the collision happened only minutes from their home in unincorporated San Mateo County. LaRock was not able to confirm any other information about any of the victims.

Drugs and alcohol are not suspected to have contributed to the collision. The Australian driver was still hospitalized Saturday afternoon.