WRONG-WAY CRASH CLAIMS LIFE; ITALIAN STUDENT'S DEATH ON I-5 ONE IN SPATE OF SIMILAR COLLISIONS.

Byline: Theresa Moreau Daily News Staff Writer

With only one day until she was to return home to Italy, a 21-year-old student was killed Friday by a motorist driving the wrong way on a Los Angeles freeway, authorities said.

It was the third such wrong-way collision along freeways in the past 10 days - with a total of four fatalities.

Scylla Caragliano died instantly when the car in which she was a passenger was hit by a car driven by Adam Martinez, 24, of Sylmar, police said.

Martinez was driving a 1984 blue Pontiac Firebird eastbound in the westbound lanes of the Ronald Reagan Freeway, said California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Gretchen Jacobs.

Caragliano, described as a dark-eyed beauty from a well-to-do European family, had spent August in a four-week English program at EF International Language School, housed on the CSUN campus. Kevin Smith, 21, of Northridge, a student at CSUN, was driving the 1987 Nissan 300ZX in which Caragliano was the sole passenger. He suffered critical injuries and was taken to Holy Cross Medical Center, authorities said. Smith is a student at CSUN.

After hearing of her death, students and faculty of the Language School held a memorial for Caragliano.

``It's pretty tragic. She was a treasure; she's a lost treasure,'' said Ann Metropulos, vice president of the school.

Martinez was arrested on suspicion of felony manslaughter, and police are investigating whether he was driving under the influence, Jacobs said.

Martinez and his passenger Javier Rodriguez, 36, of Sylmar, both suffered head and neck injuries. Rodriguez was taken to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills.

Martinez was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where officers are standing guard.

Because Caragliano was to leave for Italy today, she and Smith had spent the evening enjoying a farewell dinner at a Beverly Hills restaurant. The two were returning to the Cal State Northridge campus when the crash occurred.

Last week, Alexito Manuva, 34, of West Covina was arrested on suspicion of murder after he sped nearly 10 miles along the eastbound Foothill Freeway, then crashed his Honda Accord head-on into a Ford Mustang and killed its driver, authorities said.

Manuel Phillip Lopez, 21, of Baldwin Park, is the third driver suspected of a wrong-way collision. Police say he was trying to elude officers by driving southbound on the northbound lanes of the Pomona Freeway on Aug. 22.

Two of three passengers died.

Alcohol or drugs are believed to have played a part in all the crashes, authorities said.

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Photo

Photo: The body of a woman is wheeled from the scene of a wrong-way collision on the Golden State Freeway in Pacoima.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News