Whenever a passenger vehicle is involved in a collision with a tractor trailer the result is usually not too good, especially in the case of a head-on crash. In this case, Auturo Cristino was driving his SUV the wrong way on Interstate 95 and crashed directly head-on into the big rig.
Apparently, the 34 year old Cristino survived the wreck even though the the cabin of the truck was nearly disintegrated from the wreck. North Carolina Highway Patrol reported that the the SUV was driving south in the northbound lanes of I-95 near Selma, North Carolina early in the morning when he slammed into the to 18 wheeler head-on.
Cristino’s SUV hit the tractor trailer near exit 97 close to the Johnston-Wilson County line at approximately 4 am Sunday. Authorities have reported that both Cristino and the truck driver have survived the wreck, but there is no details to the extent of their injuries. It took several hours to clear the lanes of debris on that particular stretch of I-95 that morning.
According to wikipedia, wrong-way driving is the act of driving a motor vehicle against the direction of traffic. It can occur on either one- or two-way roads (in the latter case, arising from driving on the wrong side of the road), and may be due to driver inattention or impairment, or because of insufficient road markings or signage. It can also occur due to drivers from right-hand traffic countries being unaccustomed to driving in a left-hand traffic country, and vice versa. Often, people also drive in the wrong direction intentionally because they missed an exit, for thrill-seeking, as a suicide attempt or as a shortcut.
It is a serious problem when it occurs on divided highways because of the high speeds usually involved. In the United States, about 350 people are killed each year in accidents caused by drivers headed in the wrong direction on the highway. Most drivers who enter a divided highway or ramp in the wrong direction correct themselves by turning around.