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2 Chicago Area Business Leaders Among 4 Killed In Wrong-Way Crash In San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS) -- A wrong-way driver in San Francisco is to blame for a violent crash that killed two Chicago business leaders early Thursday.

As CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reported Thursday night, both the victims – Judson Bergman, 62, of Barrington, and Mary Miller, 57, of Chicago – founded their own companies.

Mary Miller, Judson Bergman
Mary Miller and Judson Bergman. (via Facebook)

The crash happened just before 12:30 a.m. Pacific Time on U.S. Highway 101 in San Francisco, just north Candlestick Point and just south of Third Street, California Highway Patrol Officer Bert Diaz told CBS San Francisco.

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The CHP said the impaired driver of a Volkswagen Cabrio – identified as Emilie Ross, 34, of Hillsborough, California – was headed south on the highway in the northbound lanes. Multiple reports about the wrong-way driver came in to the CHP, first at the I-280 junction and then at the Candlestick Park off-ramp, CBS San Francisco reported.

A CHP unit then came upon the vehicle as one of those involved in a two-vehicle crash at Paul Avenue. The other vehicle was a Ford Escape taxi that was carrying Bergman and Miller.

They both died at the scene, along with cab driver Berkant Ramadan Ahmed, 43, of San Carlos, California, and wrong-way Driver Ross.

Wrong-way driver Ross also died, along with the taxi driver, 42-year-old Berkant Ramadan Ahmed of San Carlos.

The CHP said the wrong-way driver might have been headed on the wrong direction for at least a mile altogether.

"It is very possible that they could have been traveling for quite some time," Officer Diaz said.

Bergman founded the Chicago-based Envestnet 20 years ago and still served as its chairman and chief executive officer.

According to reports, Envestnet made almost $700 million in 2017.

Miller was the founder and the managing partner of Hanover Hill Wealth Advisors, located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Her company bio still lists her name as Mary Miller-Bergman.

Police say luggage was found inside their taxi.

The CHP said drunken driving arrests are up more than 20 percent in the Bay Area compared with last year. This was also the 25th wrong-way driver collision in the San Francisco Bay area year.

There were 30 wrong-way crashes last year in Cook County.

Bergman is survived by four children with his first wife, Susan, who died in 2006 of brain cancer. Attempts to reach Bergman's children Thursday night were not successful.

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