Wrong-way driver on Pierce Elevated charged with intoxicated assault, police said

One person was critically injured in the crash

HOUSTON – A woman is charged with intoxicated assault in connection to a wrong-way crash on the Pierce Elevated stretch of I-45 Saturday in which one person was critically injured, police said.

The video shared with KPRC2 shows a driver, identified by police as Nicole Bertoldi, traveling the wrong way in the far left-hand lane of the Pierce Elevated on the Gulf Freeway in downtown Houston. Police said they were called to the area around 2:30 a.m. for a three-car accident. 

Police said Bertoldi, 28, was driving a white Toyota Corolla when she collided head-on with a white Kia Optima on the Gulf Freeway. A 67-year-old male passenger in the Kia was taken to Ben Taub Hospital in critical condition, police said. 

Bertoldi admitted to officers she was drinking before the crash, according to police.

She is charged with intoxicated assault.

Bertoldi remains hospitalized.

The crash temporarily shut down the stretch of highway, but it reopened Saturday morning. 

Dashcam video shows the encounter one driver had with the wrong-way driver: