CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee — A 46-year-old driver was killed early on Sunday, October 25, in a wrong-way head-on collision on Highway 27 in Chattanooga, police said in reporting published by WTVC NewsChannel 9 on Sunday afternoon. A Mazda CX-5 was travelling south in the highway's northbound lanes when it hit a Mercedes CLS 550 head-on at about 2 a.m., according to the police account carried by WTVC. WDEF News 12 also reported on October 25 that a 46-year-old driver was killed in the collision.

Source: HeyDay News synthesis of WTVC and WDEF police reporting

Both drivers were initially taken to hospital with serious injuries, but the Mercedes driver later died, police said. WTVC identified the person who died as the Mercedes driver, not the driver of the wrong-way Mazda. The Mazda driver's last reported condition was serious injuries at the time of transport; no later condition update has been verified. Neither driver's name has been released in the reporting reviewed.

How the Mazda came to be travelling in the opposing lanes remains unexplained. Police have not identified an entry point or a sequence leading up to the collision, and no cause or charges have been established in the reporting so far. Chattanooga's Traffic/DUI investigators are handling the case; the unit's involvement does not by itself establish that either driver was impaired, and police describe the investigation as ongoing.

The next update from police is expected to clarify the surviving driver's condition and how the Mazda entered the northbound lanes. Awaaz Punjab is not naming either driver because authorities have not released their names.