A Washington man was clinging to life this morning at a San Jose
hospital after a head-on accident Wednesday evening on Highway 156
near the Union Road intersection.
Terry Brock, 53, of Tacoma, Wash. was taken by helicopter to the
intensive care unit at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center where he
is being treated for a major head injury and is on life support,
the California Highway Patrol said.
A Washington man was clinging to life this morning at a San Jose hospital after a head-on accident Wednesday evening on Highway 156 near the Union Road intersection.
Terry Brock, 53, of Tacoma, Wash. was taken by helicopter to the intensive care unit at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center where he is being treated for a major head injury and is on life support, the California Highway Patrol said.
Steve Luiz, 26, of Hollister, who allegedly caused the crash, was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence, having an open container of alcohol in a vehicle and no proof of insurance. Luiz was booked into San Benito County Jail where he is being held in lieu of $52,000 bail, according to jail records.
The 6:45 p.m. accident happened when Luiz was eastbound on Highway 156 west of Union Road in a burgundy 1998 Chevrolet Silverado pick-up. Witnesses told crash investigators that Luiz was driving at an estimated 90 mph before the crash, weaving in and out of traffic as he repeatedly passed cars ahead of him, the CHP said.
As Luiz approached the Union Road intersection, he reportedly crossed the center line and drove directly in front of a brown 1984 Volvo station wagon driven by Brock, the CHP said.
Brock was unable to avoid Luiz’s oncoming pick-up and it collided with his station wagon, sending it careening out of control. It rolled over an unknown number of times before coming to rest on the driver’s side, the CHP said.
Luiz continued eastbound in the opposing lane and seconds later collided head-on with a white Toyota T-100 pick-up driven by Lloyd Keith Wimer, 53, of Los Osos, the CHP said.
Emergency crews from the Hollister, San Benito County and San Juan Bautista fire departments converged on the scene and began a large-scale rescue and medical effort that forced Highway 156 to be closed between Flynn and Union roads for more than an hour. Traffic, which was backed up for miles in both directions, was diverted onto Mitchell and Flynn Roads.
Wimer, Luiz and Amber Brock, 20, who was riding with her father in the Volvo, all sustained minor injuries and were taken to Hazel Hawkins Hospital. Wimer and Brock were released following treatment and Luiz was released into CHP custody.
