Driver in fatal wrong-way crash in Newport Beach may have entered freeway intentionally, authorities say

A 23-year-old man under investigation for his involvement in a violent, head-on crash that killed a Newport Beach woman remains in a medically induced coma, authorities said Friday. Authorities also are investigating whether the driver — identified as Luke Fitch of Newport Beach — intentionally sped onto the 73 Freeway in Newport Beach going the wrong way, according to the California Highway Patrol. Witnesses called authorities shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday to report a silver Mercedes that was driving erratically on city streets, Officer John DeMatteo, a CHP spokesman, said earlier this week. The car entered the freeway near Birch Street and sped south in the northbound lanes at more than 100 mph before it crashed into a white BMW, DeMatteo said.