Wrong-Way Driver Had Earlier DUI, Just-Cleared License

Olivia Culbreath's restrictions lifted last week after DUI at age 17
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 11, 2014 7:05 AM CST
Updated Feb 11, 2014 7:30 AM CST
Wrong-Way Driver Had Earlier DUI, Just-Cleared License
Officials investigate the scene of a multiple vehicle accident where six people were killed on the westbound Pomona Freeway in Diamond Bar, Calif., on Sunday morning, Feb. 9, 2014.   (AP Photo/San Gabriel Valley Tribune,Watchara Phomicinda)

The driver in a wrong-way crash that killed six people early Sunday had restrictions on her driver's license from a previous drunk driving conviction and other traffic violations—restrictions that were lifted just last week, the Los Angeles Times reports. Olivia Carolee Culbreath, 21, is suspected of being drunk when she drove her Camaro 100mph the wrong way on a California freeway; she was previously convicted of drunk driving when she was 17. Sunday's crash killed Culbreath's sister Maya, 24, and friend Kristin Melissa Young, 21, as well as four members of a family traveling in the Explorer Culbreath hit: Gregorio Mejia-Martinez, 47; Leticia Ibarra, 42; Jessica Jasmine Mejia, 20; and Ester Delgado, 80.

Maya Culbreath also had multiple DUI convictions; her license was revoked at the time of the crash, the Times notes. Olivia Culbreath survived and has been arrested on suspicion of DUI causing great bodily injury and manslaughter. Joel Cortez, 57, who was driving a third vehicle that the Explorer collided with, also survived with minor injuries. He tells the Times that after the crash, as he looked out his window, he heard someone scream, "There are bodies all over." In Florida, where another wrong-way crash killed five people Sunday morning, police are still searching for answers, Fox 13 reports. The wrong-way driver, who was among those killed, has not been identified publicly. Police are still investigating whether drugs were involved, where the driver got on the interstate, and whether he was intentionally on the wrong side of the road. (More car crash stories.)

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