Wrong-Way Driver Charged in Deadly AC Expressway Wreck

A woman driving the wrong way on the Atlantic City Expressway last summer, when she crashed into a concrete barrier and a toll reader system, has been indicted for vehicular homicide in her passenger's death.

Police say Diana Barrios-Ortiz, 23, of Bridgeton, was intoxicated on July 5 when she drove onto the expressway in Pleasantville early that morning, traveling in the opposite direction of traffic, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.

Driver Drove the Wrong Way on the Expressway

NJ State Police were dispatched at 4:27 am Saturday, July 5th, to investigate a wrong-way driver on the Expressway.

As police searched for the driver, they were called to the scene of a one-car crash at mile 4.1 eastbound on the Atlantic City Expressway, where Barrios-Ortiz's silver Infiniti had crashed into a concrete barrier and a toll reader system.

Her car overturned on the highway.

She recieved minor injuries, but her passenger, David Salas, 24, of Bridgeton, was killed.

Barrios-Ortiz's driver's license was suspended at the time of the crash, the Prosecutor's Office said.

A grand jury indicted Barrios-Ortiz on charges of vehicular homicide.

At 5:10 am on Saturday, July 5, the 511 traveler information service posted a message on X about the police investigation.

Crash investigation on Atlantic City Expressway eastbound, West of Pleasantville Toll Plaza (Pleasantville) to East of Pleasantville Toll Plaza (Pleasantville) 2 Left lanes and shoulder of 4 lanes closed. MOVE OVER FOR EMERGENCY https://511nj.org/event/ORI1237926577?8741