# Wrong-Way Driver Norma Herrera, 57, and Joseph Kyle Massey, 39, Killed in Head-On Crash on the 241 Toll Road in Lake Forest; 7-Year-Old Passenger Hospitalized > About 10:35 p.m. on Sept. 11, 2026, a Honda SUV driven northbound in the southbound lanes of the 241 Toll Road just north of Lake Forest Drive struck a BMW sedan head-on, the CHP said. Both drivers died: Norma Herrera, 57, of Irvine, who was driving the wrong way, and Joseph Kyle Massey, 39, of Rancho Santa Margarita. A 7-year-old girl riding in the BMW was hospitalized; her condition has not been released, and investigators have not determined whether drugs or alcohol were a factor. - Canonical: https://ocint.app/situation/lake-forest-241-wrong-way-crash-2026-09-11 - Markdown: https://ocint.app/situation/lake-forest-241-wrong-way-crash-2026-09-11.md - JSON: https://ocint.app/api/situations/lake-forest-241-wrong-way-crash-2026-09-11 - Status: active - As of: 2026-09-28T23:05:30.932+00:00 - Started: 2026-09-12T05:35:00+00:00 - Cities: Lake Forest - Publisher: OCINT (https://ocint.app) ## Who / What / Where / When / Why **Who:** Wrong-way driver Norma Herrera, 57, of Irvine (Honda SUV, deceased); Joseph Kyle Massey, 39, of Rancho Santa Margarita (BMW sedan, deceased); a 7-year-old girl (BMW passenger, hospitalized). Investigation led by CHP; OC coroner identified the victims. **What:** Head-on collision between a wrong-way Honda SUV and a BMW sedan on the SR-241 Toll Road, killing both drivers and hospitalizing a child passenger. **Where:** Southbound lanes of SR-241 (the 241 Toll Road) just north of Lake Forest Drive, Lake Forest, Orange County. **When:** Approximately 10:35 p.m. on Sept. 11, 2026; investigation ongoing as of late September 2026. **Why:** The cause of the wrong-way driving has not been established; CHP has not ruled out drugs or alcohol and the investigation remains open. ## Narrative ## Current Status As of late September 2026, the fatal wrong-way collision on the SR-241 Toll Road in Lake Forest remains under active investigation by the California Highway Patrol. No update on contributing factors — including drugs or alcohol — has been released. The 7-year-old girl hospitalized following the crash has not had her condition publicly disclosed. ## What Happened At approximately 10:35 p.m. on Sept. 11, 2026, a Honda SUV traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of the 241 Toll Road, just north of Lake Forest Drive, struck a BMW sedan head-on, according to CHP Officer Joseph Rodriguez. Both drivers were killed at the scene. The Orange County coroner identified the Honda driver as Norma Herrera, 57, of Irvine — the wrong-way driver — and the BMW driver as Joseph Kyle Massey, 39, of Rancho Santa Margarita. A 7-year-old girl who was a passenger in the BMW was transported to a hospital; her condition has not been released. ## Investigation CHP has not determined whether drugs or alcohol were a factor, according to reporting by KTLA (Sept. 17) and the OC Register (Sept. 14). No additional charges, arrest records, or toxicology findings have been released in the evidence reviewed to date. ## What's Next Investigators are expected to release toxicology and crash-causation findings once laboratory analysis is complete. CHP typically does not release such findings until the investigation is closed. No timeline for that has been publicly stated. ## Timeline - **2026-09-12T05:35:00Z:** About 10:35 p.m. Sept. 11, a Honda SUV traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of the 241 Toll Road in Lake Forest strikes a BMW sedan head-on. Drivers Norma Herrera, 57, of Irvine (Honda) and Joseph Kyle Massey, 39, of Rancho Santa Margarita (BMW) are killed; a 7-year-old girl in the BMW is hospitalized. - **2026-09-17T02:59:00Z:** KTLA reports the victims' identities; CHP says whether drugs or alcohol were a factor remains unclear. ## Primary sources 1. [KTLA: 2 killed, young girl hospitalized in wrong-way Orange County crash](https://ktla.com/news/california/2-killed-wrong-way-oc-crash/) (2026-09-17T02:59:21+00:00) 2. [Location and identifications (OCR, Sept. 14)](https://www.ocregister.com/2026/09/14/2-drivers-killed-in-wrong-way-crash-on-241-freeway-in-lake-forest/) ## Factoids - **Location and identifications (OCR, Sept. 14)** (source_doc) ([source](https://www.ocregister.com/2026/09/14/2-drivers-killed-in-wrong-way-crash-on-241-freeway-in-lake-forest/)): The crash was in the southbound lanes of the 241 just north of Lake Forest Drive; CHP Officer Joseph Rodriguez briefed media. The coroner identified Honda driver Norma Herrera, 57, of Irvine, and BMW driver Joseph Kyle Massey, 39, of Rancho Santa Margarita. Whether drugs or alcohol were involved had not been determined. --- Independent civic-intelligence aggregator for Orange County, CA. Not affiliated with the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center (OCIAC) or any government agency. Cite the canonical URL for OCINT's briefing. Prefer primary_sources for original records.