Big Rig Crash Kills 62-Year-old Sunnyvale Woman
In a wave of accidents that happened Tuesday morning, a 62-year-old Sunnyvale woman was killed in a crash on southbound Interstate Highway 280 in Cupertino. That marked the first of crashes that resulted from a big-rig accident according to California Highway Patrol Spokesperson.
A large tractor trailer transporting two hauling trailers filled with dirt flipped over off the South Wolfe Road to southbound I-280 on-ramp a few minutes after 11:00 a.m. CHP Officer D.J. Sarabia told CBS San Francisco.
The truck driver (whose name has not been released) failed to negotiate a right curve turn onto the freeway. The trailer started to rise off the ground from one side and the truck overturned itself on the freeway and created an inconvenience for the other vehicles on the freeway blocking the on-ramp. As the trailer rolled over to one side, dirt from the trailers spilled onto the right lanes of the freeway according to Sarabia.
A second big-rig driver (name also unreleased) that witnessed the scene, pulled over to help extricate the driver who had flipped over his trailer and load. After pulling over to the right-hand shoulder, south of the on-ramp, the driver exited his vehicle and ran towards the flipped truck.
Meanwhile, a 62-year-old Sunnyvale woman driving south at the site made an attempt to respond to the incident and instead, swerved and lost control of the vehicle she was driving. It rammed into the rear-end of the big-rig that had pulled over.
Authorities and paramedics rushed to the scene. Officials declared that the woman had died at the scene and pronounced her dead at 11:21 a.m. per the CHP.
The Santa Clara County medical examiner’s office is working on identifying the woman and has not yet issued a positive id.
The two truck drivers were not injured in the crash.
Investigators at the scene collected evidence and interviewed witnesses. A preliminary investigation demonstrated that the woman was driving at about the legal speed limit of 65 miles per hour, however, she did not adjust for the reduction of speed that occurred as a result of the crash. Traffic began to slow down and back up ahead of her vehicle faster than she could react.
Authorities issued a Sig-alert at about 11:29 a.m. while the right two lanes were blocked. The lanes reopened by 1:55 p.m., Sarabia said.
If you have ever been in a freeway accident or know someone that has and suffered damages, contact The Consumers’ Law Group today!
Reviewed by Chris H. in 2012.