Woman narrowly escaped wrong-way driver accident on Sunday and describes the moment

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – This is another case of a wrong-way driver causing a serious accident on one of our local roadways.

This time it took place late Sunday evening along I-37.

The police received numerous calls about the driver.

A total of four vehicles were involved in the accident. The driver and three other people, including a 74-year-old woman, had to be taken to hospital.

The driver was identified as 23-year-old Kendra Nunez. She was arrested for assault with a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.

According to TxDOT, there were over 360 alcohol-related accidents in 2023. These resulted in 11 deaths and 33 serious injuries – and that’s in Corpus Christi alone.

3NEWS spoke to a woman who had to avoid a wrong-way driver shortly before the accident on Sunday evening.

When Allysa Engleka got behind the wheel of her car on Sunday evening, she never expected to be confronted with a wrong-way driver.

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“I thought it was the other side, but my eyes played tricks on me and it actually came right on my trail,” she said.

It was just after 10 p.m. when she saw headlights coming straight toward her.

She had only a few seconds to react, pulled over to the side of the road and called 911.

“I took a good fiver, I was shaking,” she said. “This could have ended horribly if I hadn't been more alert.”

Moments later, a horrific sight. A mangled car, debris strewn across I-37.

A cellphone video shared with 3NEWS shows the aftermath of the accident, which police say was caused by a woman driving in the wrong direction. Police also suspect she was drunk.

The vehicle initially collided with a car in the left lane. A total of four vehicles were involved in the serious accident.

Engleka was in the left lane.

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“Yes, I definitely was! Never again, not at night,” she said.

We have experienced this before.

In August 2023, 25-year-old Benjamin Schneider was struck and killed by a drunken wrong-way driver on I-37 near McKinzie Road. But it was an accident in November 2022 that led to safety improvements around the Harbor Bridge after a wrong-way driver killed two people and seriously injured another.

The driver, Roxanne Palacios, remains in prison awaiting trial.

“Move to the shoulder, the right shoulder, not the left,” said CCPD Lt. Michael Pena.

He said the vast majority of accidents involving wrong-way drivers occur in the left lane, also known as the passing lane.

“If you turn that around, the fast lane is the slow lane to them,” Pena said. “The reason for that is because the person could be intoxicated for one of three reasons: drunk, under the influence of drugs or with a medical condition. And they think they're driving in the correct lane and they think they're driving in the slow lane.”

He said it is extremely important to be extremely vigilant at all times of the day.

“Secondly, be aware of your surroundings, pull over to the right shoulder and call 911,” he said.

Engleka has done just that and knows how lucky she is.

“I could have looked down at the wrong moment, my mother and my husband could have received horrible calls,” she said.

3NEWS has learned that Nunez has posted her $30,000 bail.

She must now comply with several conditions, including not drinking alcohol, staying at home, and having a supervisor have full access to her phone through the CHECKUPS app.