Fiery I-205 Bridge crash that killed 2 caused by wrong-way driver

Portland police say one of the drivers involved in a deadly head-on crash on the Interstate 205 Bridge on Monday morning was driving the wrong way.

Two people died in the crash, which happened around 1:10 a.m. on the northbound lanes of the bridge.

The crash occurred just north of Government Island. Officers arrived to find a Toyota RAV-4 fully engulfed in flames, and a Chrysler 300 against the eastern concrete barrier, the Portland Police Bureau said in a Tuesday news release. There was debris littered on the freeway between the two vehicles, the release says.

Both of the vehicles’ single occupants died at the scene, police said.

Crash investigators determined that the Chrysler was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes when it collided with the northbound Toyota.

The driver of the Chrysler was identified as 21-year-old Messiah Smith. A place of residence for Smith has not been provided.

Additional information, including the identity of the driver of the Toyota, will be released at the direction of the investigators, police said.

Northbound I-205 was closed from Northeast Airport Way over the Glenn L. Jackson Bridge to state Highway 14 in Washington until shortly before 8 a.m. During the closure, traffic was diverted off of northbound I-205 at westbound Airport Way.