Two people were killed Monday afternoon in San Jose when a white Toyota pickup truck traveling the wrong way on Highway 85 hit them head-on, the California Highway Patrol said.
The wreck happened at about 3:40 p.m. near the Highway 87 interchange.
The pickup truck was driving south in the northbound lanes of the highway when it struck a Tesla, according to the CHP. A dash cam video showed the pickup truck going in the wrong direction.
The driver and a passenger in the Tesla were killed, the CHP said. The driver of the pickup truck was taken to a hospital with major injuries. CHP identified the pickup driver as 39-year-old Duncan McQuarrie of Orlando, Florida.
McQuarrie has a lengthy arrest record. It shows among other run-ins with the law, he was cited earlier this year for driving without a license, for possession of cocaine in 2021 and drunk driving in 2013.
CHP has not yet determined if drugs or alcohol played a factor in the crash.
According to the CHP, the victims were a 47-year-old woman and a 14-year-old boy from San Jose. As of Monday night, the CHP did not release their names.
Rachel Johnson told NBC Bay Area that she was a few cars behind the Tesla at the time of the crash.
"We saw more smoke and people were opening their driver doors and getting out and standing in their doors to see what was happening," she said.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. >Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
Johnson said she saw a woman run all the way across from the southbound lanes to help the victims. She added that ambulances, cop cars and fire engines were on scene in minutes.
"I’ve seen accidents all my life in the Bay Area. This seemed different. It had an eerie feeling," she said.
All northbound lanes of Highway 85 were shut down for hours. But it has since reopened.
Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to call CHP's San Jose office at (408)961-0900.
