A woman died following a four-vehicle crash at Leavesley and
Monterey roads early Wednesday evening. The crash also knocked over
a bus stop and cement garbage can, and sheared off a highway road
sign.
A woman died following a four-vehicle crash at Leavesley and Monterey roads early Wednesday evening. The crash also knocked over a bus stop and cement garbage can, and sheared off a highway road sign.
Gilroy Police Sgt. Jim Gillio said Thursday morning that he did not know the name, age or city of residence of the victim, and staff at the Santa Clara County Coroner’s office said next of kin had not yet been notified by Thursday afternoon.
The collision shocked witnesses, and Gilroy Police Department’s Major Accident Investigation Team examined the scene into the early hours of Thursday morning.
“I’ve been here here five years and seen three accidents, and nothing was ever like this,” said Liz Ruzendall, who works at Water Warehouse and lives above the business. “There was nothing left of that car.”
The collision happened at 6:48 p.m., Gillio said. The fatality victim, who was driving a light colored Ford Focus, was airlifted to an area trauma center before she died, he said. At this point, it does not appear that alcohol played a role in the crash, Gillio said.
The accident also involved a Chevy truck with one occupant, a Honda that contained two people and a parked Isuzu sport utility vehicle, Gillio said. However, he said the cause of the accident was still under investigation. There were no other injuries, he said.
Roberto Martinez, who works at VP Racing next to where the accident occurred, said he heard a huge “boom” while he was working on a car in the shop, and he went outside to see what happened. The Focus spun around about three times before crashing into the bus stop, the hydrant and the power pole, he said.
“I called 911 because I heard the lady screaming in the vehicle,” Martinez said. The screaming ceased by the time police arrived, he said.
Martinez said he did not actually see the initial collision itself, but he overheard a witness saying that the Focus may have run a red light before colliding with the Chevy. The Focus was a heap of twisted metal as officers investigated the scene late Wednesday evening.
The car was on fire at first, and Martinez said someone asked him for a fire extinguisher from the shop to put out the flames. Firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to remove the victim from the Focus, Martinez said, and they removed the roof of the vehicle.
Ruzendall said parts of the Focus and pieces of cement landed right next to the door of the Water Warehouse.
“This is like an accident that you see on a highway,” she said.
Martinez said he also saw a dog yelping outside on the ground near the collision, but he did not know who the owner was. That dog later died, Police Chief Denise Turner said.
Despite the tragic nature of the incident, Martinez thinks it could have been worse.
“Fortunately, no one was waiting at the bus stop,” he said.
