Three people died and five others were taken to the hospital following a chain-reaction crash on Highway 101 in Sunnyvale early Monday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The crash and investigation shut down the highway in both directions between Fair Oaks Avenue and Lawrence Expressway for several hours.
At about 12:30 a.m., the driver of a pickup truck travelling northbound on the highway lost control and slammed into the center median, setting off a series of additional collisions, Lee said.
Three people who got out of their cars following the initial collisions were struck and killed by other vehicles, the CHP believes.
"After the initial collision where we had the initial pickup truck that crashed into the center median, at least one or two vehicles collided with that vehicle or debris that came out of the pickup truck," Lee said. "Drivers of those two vehicles stopped within the lanes we believe at this time…They stopped within the lanes, got out of their vehicles to assess damage, check on the other drivers, make sure that everybody was OK. Additional vehicles that were travelling northbound came into contact with the scene and collided with the scene as well."
Two of the people struck on the highway were sent over the median wall and into the southbound lanes. The third person ended up in the northbound lanes.
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At least seven vehicles were involved in the collisions – six on the northbound side and one on the southbound side, Lee said.
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Lee said there is no indication that any type of impairment played a role in the incident, but that could change as the CHP said they're looking into reports of cars possibly racing before the incident.
“There is no evidence or anything to suggest that other than one statement in the log but our our officers will continue to investigate and if there is any information or any indication to suggest that any of the vehicles were racing on the freeway prior to the crash then that will become a focus of the investigation,” said Lee.
The Santa Clara County coroner released the identities of the victims:
- Tyler Tolentino Rasay, 28, a resident of South San Francisco
- Paul August Dennig Jr. , 24, a resident of Mountain View
- Nicacio Negrete Gutierrez, 53, a resident of Sunnyvale
Rasay's family said he worked as an electrical engineer at PG&E, loved cars and snowboarding.
Friends and family described Denning as smart, inclusive and a clear example of what we should all strive to be.
An investigation is ongoing.
