BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — The man identified by the California Highway Patrol as the driver accused of causing a deadly wrong-way crash on Highway 99 was an employee of the California Correctional Training and Rehabilitation Authority at North Kern State Prison, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
CDCR confirmed Wednesday that Jamie Rodriguez has been an employee of the California Correctional Training and Rehabilitation Authority, or CALCTRA, at North Kern State Prison since February 1, 2023.
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CALCTRA is a separate state entity that operates within CDCR facilities. The agency provides work and training opportunities for incarcerated people and operates manufacturing, service and other programs throughout California’s state prisons.
Rodriguez has not been charged in connection with the deadly crash.
CHP previously identified Rodriguez as the driver of a 2019 BMW 530i that was traveling the wrong way on Highway 99 before the crash early Sunday morning, August 16.
Three people were killed, and three others were hurt in a fiery three-vehicle wrong-way crash on southbound Highway 99 near 7th Standard Road early Sunday morning. PHOTO: KNN.NEWS
According to CHP, Rodriguez was traveling north in the southbound lanes of Highway 99 when it collided with a 2022 Honda Accord and a 2022 Chevrolet Colorado near 7th Standard Road.
Three people inside the Honda were killed. They were identified as 41-year-old Vanessa Sue Wetmore, 20-year-old Kylie Wetmore and 16-year-old Kloie Wetmore, all of Bakersfield.
A GoFundMe was created for a mother and two daughters who were killed in a wrong-way fiery crash on Highway 99 in Bakersfield early Sunday morning. PHOTO: Dale Schoettler, GoFundMe
CHP said Rodriguez suffered major injuries in the crash and was taken to a hospital. Two people in the Chevrolet Colorado suffered minor injuries.
The investigation remains ongoing.
As of the time of this publication, no criminal charges have been filed in the case.
BakersfieldNow has reached out to the Kern County District Attorney’s Office for an update on the case, but has not heard back as of publication.