Two people died in a vehicle collision Saturday night caused by a driver traveling the wrong way down an eastern Japan expressway, with a third person killed when a truck slammed into traffic that had backed up after the first incident.

At around 10 p.m. Saturday, the car traveling the wrong direction on the Tohoku Expressway in Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture, collided head-on with another vehicle driven by the second victim. Police confirmed Sunday that the two drivers, two men -- one in his 40s and the other in his 50s -- had died.

The victim of the subsequent impact involving the truck was a woman in her 60s, though details surrounding her death remain unknown.

Both accidents occurred between the Nasu and Kuroisoitamuro exits on the expressway, which runs between Saitama and Aomori prefectures.

Thirteen people were taken to hospital.

© KYODO