Updated at 4 p.m.
One man was confirmed dead and two others were airlifted in
critical condition after a car slammed through the bottom of a
truck trailer.
One man was confirmed dead and two others were airlifted in critical condition after a car slammed through the bottom of a truck trailer.
The big rig attempted to do an illegal U-turn on Highway 152 and the car containing the victims was forced to slam through the bottom, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Emergency responders pronounced one of the victims, an 18-year-old man from Turlock, dead at the scene. Two others – an 18-year-old man from Hughson and a 19-year-old woman from Ceres, who was driving – were flown to Regional Medical Center of San Jose in critical condition with major injuries, said officer Matt Peters, a CHP spokesman.
The driver of the big rig – a Costco Wholesale truck – is a 57-year-old man from Hayward, Peters said. The spokesman said investigators were continuing to examine the accident and why the big-rig driver decided to attempt a U-turn on the dirt median into the northbound lane in the area north of the interchange of highways 152 and 156. The truck driver was not immediately arrested or cited, Peters said at the accident scene.
Shortly after the accident, the truck remained parked with its trailer over the median and the new model Dodge Charger that had contained the victims was close by with the top portion of the car completely severed. Responders treated the two other victims at the scene, then airlifted them by Calstar helicopters to the San Jose hospital.
Traffic on Highway 152 was halted in the southbound lane and slowed to a crawl in the northbound lane for about an hour.
Peters said a witness told authorities the Charger had been going about 75 to 80 mph on the 65-mph highway. Peters said the man who died had been wearing a seat belt, but Peters was unsure if the two injured people had been wearing seat belts.
Responders included the San Benito County Fire Department, the Santa Clara County Fire Department, Calfire and the CHP.
