2 injured after head-on collision on US 1 in Coral Gables

1 driver in critical condition, 1 stable

CORAL GABLES, Fla. ā€“ A crash shut down U.S. Highway 1 for several hours Monday morning in Coral Gables.

Rescuers were called to the scene between Ponce de Leon Blvd and Douglas Road. Coral Gables police said both drivers were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center after the head-on collision.

"I was sleep. I was awakened by the loud sound," a woman who lives in the area said.

The woman told Local 10 News reporter Madeleine Wright that crashes are common in the area.

"I automatically knew it was an accident," she said. "I've been living here 14 years and this is common."

Coral Gables police Office Kelly Denham said the crash was reported about 6 a.m.

She said the driver of the black vehicle is in critical condition and the other is stable.

"Detectives from the traffic crash unit are investigating to see if one of the drivers was driving the wrong way on U.S. 1," Denham said. "They're trying to see where that vehicle might have crossed and they have not been able to locate that yet. So they're investigating where the vehicle came from. We did not receive any 911 calls of a vehicle driving the wrong way, so we don't know if it was a short amount of time before the collision occurred."

Denham said she was unsure how many crashes in the area justifies "a lot," but said: "We do have crashes on U.S. 1," but "most likely the road did not cause this crash."

"It was most likely driver error, but it is still under investigation and detectives will figure out what happened," she said.

All lanes on U.S. 1 have reopened.