Pasadena Man and Sunland Woman Killed, Another Man Badly Burned in Wrong-Way Crash on the 210 Freeway

[UPDATED] A woman driving in the wrong direction and a motorist from Pasadena she plowed into died following a fiery crash on the 210 Freeway in La Crescenta-Montrose on Monday, authorities said. A passenger in the wrong-way vehicle suffered severe burns.

Nicole Franshesca Ardon, 23, of Sunland, and James Tony Haddid, 27, of Pasadena, died in the 2:45 a.m. wreck in the eastbound lanes of the freeway, just west of Rosemont Avenue, according to California Highway Patrol and Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner officials.

A man riding as a passenger in Ardon’s car was hospitalized with burns to his face, arms and legs, Officer M. Soto of the CHP’s Altadena-area office reported in a written statement.

Authorities received reports about a 2016 Mazda 3 headed west in the eastbound lanes of the 210 Freeway about three minutes before the crash, Soto said.

“As CHP units were responding, CHP dispatch related the wrong-way driver had collided against another vehicle and one of those vehicles was fully engulfed in fire,” according to Soto.

Officers arrived to find the Mazda “engulfed in fire,” Soto said. Ardon was found lying in the No. 1 lane of traffic, “with flames over her body.”

Her passenger was found along the right shoulder, officials said. Haddid was trapped inside his 2014 Honda Civic.

Paramedics pronounced Ardon and Haddid dead at the scene.

“An investigation is still pending to determine whether alcohol was a factor in this collision,” Soto said.

Witnesses or anyone with information was urged to contact the CHP’s Altadena-area office at (626) 296-8100.