A Clayton woman died and a motorcyclist was injured during a
four-vehicle accident on southbound U.S. 101 south of the Bernal
Road exit.
Gilroy – A Clayton woman died and a motorcyclist was injured during a four-vehicle accident on southbound U.S. 101 south of the Bernal Road exit.
Watsonville-resident Doi Nguyen sparked the incident Sunday at 2:15pm when he tried to cross four lanes of traffic to help his wife, who was driving a separate vehicle and had broken down next to the center divider.
The man attempted “to move across all lanes of traffic, cutting all the way across from the slow lane,” said Chris Armstrong, public information officer for the California Highway Patrol, Gilroy-Hollister area. Given the driver’s maneuver, “I could foresee prosecution.”
Nguyen, driving a pickup in the slow lane, cut in front of Monterey resident Du Fengning, who was driving a compact car in the lane to the left. To avoid Nguyen, Fengning swerved into the lane to his left, knocking into San Jose resident Jennifer Scales, driving a compact car in the middle lane, one lane to the left of Fengning.
Scales lost control of her car and veered left into the center divider, nearly colliding with Nguyen’s wife’s car. Neither Scales nor Fengning were injured during the accident.
Meanwhile, Nguyen continued to slow and try to cross lanes to his left. In doing so, he moved in front of Clayton resident Kevin Hackworth, who was driving a 2001 Harley Davidson with Clayton resident Elizabeth Walsh riding passenger. Hackworth braked, but still hit the rear of Nguyen’s braking pickup.
Hackworth and Walsh were both thrown off the bike. Hackworth hit the back window of Nguyen’s truck and landed in the bed of the truck. He suffered only scrapes and bruises and was treated for his injuries at the scene and released.
Walsh landed on the pavement and hit her head and chest. When the San Jose Fire Department and an ambulance arrived on scene, they began to treat her wounds. However, she began to suffer cardiac arrest and, despite CPR efforts, was declared deceased at the scene.
As of Tuesday, law enforcement had not arrested anyone in connection with the incident and none of the drivers were under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, Armstrong said.
“There could be arrests down the road depending on what the investigation discloses, if they feel like one of the reactions led to the death,” he said.
Highway patrol will revisit the scene of the accident, take measurements and inspect the vehicles as part of the investigation, Armstrong said. The results of the investigation should be ready in about three to four weeks and will determine whether anybody is arrested and what charges are recommended.
“That will be up to the investigating officer,” he said.
