CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — It's another case of a wrong-way driver causing a major crash on one of our local roadways.
This time taking place late Sunday night along I-37.
Police received numerous calls about the driver.
The crash wound up involving four vehicles and sent the driver and three others to the hospital including a 74-year-old woman.
The driver was identified as 23-year-old Kendra Nunez. She was arrested for intoxication assault with a vehicle.
According to TxDOT, in 2023 there were over 360 DUI-alcohol related crashes. Those resulted in 11 deaths and 33 serious injuries and that was just in Corpus Christi.
3NEWS spoke with a woman who had to dodge the wrong-way driver Sunday night moments before the crash.
When Allysa Engleka got behind the wheel of her car Sunday night, she never expected she would come face to face with a wrong-way driver.
"Thinking it was the other side, my eyes were playing tricks on me, sure enough she was coming straight in my lane," she said.
It was just after 10 p.m. when she saw headlights coming directly at her.
With only seconds to react, she moved over to the side of the road and called 911.
"I took a good fiver to myself, I was shaking," she said. "That could have ended terribly had I not been more vigilant."
Moments later a terrifying scene. A crumpled car, debris scattered across I-37.
Cellphone video shared with 3NEWS shows the aftermath of the crash police say was caused by a woman driving the wrong way. She is also suspected of being drunk according to police.
The vehicle first hit a car in the left lane. Four vehicles in all were involved in the major crash.
Engleka was in the left lane.
"Yes I certainly was! Never again, not at night time," she said.
We've seen it happen before.
In August 2023, 25-year-old Benjamin Schneider was struck and killed by a wrong-way drunk driver along I-37 near McKinzie Road. But it was a crash in November 2022 that led to safety enhancements around the Harbor Bridge after a wrong-way driver killed two and seriously injured another.
That driver, Roxanne Palacios remains in jail where she awaits a trial.
"Move over to the shoulder, to the right shoulder, not the left," CCPD Lt. Michael Pena said.
He said a vast majority of wrong-way driver crashes happen in the left lane also known as the fast lane.
"If you reverse that, what you know to be the fast lane, for them it's the slow lane," Pena said. "The reason being that person may be one of three things, intoxicated on alcohol, on drugs or having a medical condition. And they think they are driving in the correct lane and they think they are driving in the slow lane."
He said it's so important no matter what time of day to be extremely vigilant.
"Be aware of your surroundings, two, pull over to the right shoulder, call 911," he said.
Engleka did just that and knows how lucky she is.
"I could have looked down at the wrong moment, my mom, my husband could have gotten terrible phone calls," she said.
3NEWS has learned that Nunez has posted her $30,000 bond.
So now, there are several bond conditions she will have to follow, including not being able to drink alcohol. She will have a curfew, and a supervising officer will also have to have full access to her phone through the CHECKUPS app.