Heartbreak as new dad, 16, dies in head-on crash with woman, 67, driving the wrong way down motorway at 80km/h at 3am – as horrifying images show their wrecked cars

A teenage father has died in a horrific head-on crash with a woman driving the wrong way down a highway at 3am in California.

Shocking photographs show the wrecked vehicles in the aftermath of the collision which claimed the lives of Thomas Ryder Shoup, 16, and Eileen Crawford, 67.

Shoup, known as Ryder Day, was described as ‘the sweetest kid’ by relatives while Crawford had been undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, according to friends.

The California Highway Patrol said Crawford’s Honda Civic was traveling the wrong way at 75-80 mph down Interstate 5 in Southern California on April 10.

She collided head-on with the Dodger Challenger driven by Ryder, a 10th grader at Mar Vista High School who has a young son named Marcelo.

Shocking photographs show the wrecked vehicles in the aftermath of the collision which claimed the lives of Thomas Ryder Shoup, 16, and Eileen Crawford, 67.

The California Highway Patrol said Crawford’s Honda Civic was traveling the wrong way at 75-80 mph down Interstate 5 in Southern California on April 10

The Dodge Challenger caught fire and was quickly engulfed in flames, and both drivers were trapped in their cars before dying at the scene, the CHP said.

“Ryder was the sweetest boy and touched the lives of everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him,” a collection for his family reads.

‘Ryder has been surrounded by so much love since the day he was born and could light up a room with his infectious smile.

‘He was able to achieve so much at just 16 and leaves behind his son Marcelo and his girlfriend Eliana, who meant the world to Ryder.’

The city of Imperial Beach, where Ryder lived, shared a statement remembering him as a popular teenager who was in the city’s junior lifeguard program.

“His instructors knew him as a great kid who was well-liked. Ryder was very athletic, competitive and always had a smile on his face,” officials said.

“When I found out, my heart dropped,” said Ryder’s friend, Gilbert Solis.

‘He would always have a smile on that face on the field or on the sidelines. He would always have a big white smile on his face.’

Shoup, known as Ryder Day, was described as ‘the sweetest kid’ by relatives on a GoFundMe

The crash site, on I-5 near the San Ysidro Port of Entry, is littered with debris, and the two vehicles at the scene were almost completely destroyed.

It’s not clear how Crawford started going the wrong way down the highway, but her car had been traveling in that direction for about six miles before the crash.

The CHP said concerned motorists had alerted them that the Honda was going the wrong way, but the crash happened just three minutes after the initial 911 call.

Her neighbor Francisco Beltran said she had been undergoing radiation treatment for cancer and was sometimes forgetful.

“Sometimes she would go south, you know, kind of blank minded and just take off,” Beltran told NBC.

A toxicology report to determine if alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash has not yet been released.