Wrong-Way Driver on 405 Freeway in Hawthorne Triggers Deadly Overnight Crash and Shuts Northbound Lanes for Hours

HAWTHORNE, CA — One person was killed after a wrong-way crash on the 405 Freeway in Hawthorne early Tuesday morning. California Highway Patrol logs say a driver traveling south in the northbound lanes was involved in a collision just south of Rosecrans Avenue.

Multiple calls had already reported the vehicle going the wrong direction before the crash happened.

Crash Reported Before 1 a.m.

Dispatchers began receiving collision reports at 12:50 a.m., with witnesses saying a vehicle was on fire. CHP logs indicate at least five vehicles were blocking traffic lanes after the wreck.

The sequence suggests the wrong-way driver was spotted before the impact, but officials have not released further details about what caused the crash.

Freeway Closed Overnight

Just after 1 a.m., all northbound lanes of the 405 were shut down while firefighters, paramedics and CHP officers worked the scene. The closure lasted for several hours as responders cleared the roadway and investigated the fatal collision.

Traffic did not reopen until just after 5 a.m., according to CHP logs.

Investigators Seek Answers

The crash remains under investigation, and officials have not identified the driver or said whether any other injuries were reported. CHP has only confirmed that the collision involved a vehicle traveling the wrong way in the freeway lanes.

The incident happened in a busy stretch of the 405 near Rosecrans Avenue, a corridor that often carries heavy overnight and early-morning traffic.

What Drivers Should Know

Wrong-way crashes can unfold quickly and leave little time for other motorists to react, especially on high-speed freeways. In this case, emergency crews were on scene within minutes after multiple reports came in.

Officials are continuing to piece together the timeline of the deadly wreck and the events that led up to it.

TNSO covers California, Nevada, and Arizona as the story unfolds.