Two small SUVs were smashed in, steel guts spilling out as they
sat on flatbed tow trucks on the shoulder of U.S. 101 in Gilroy.
Gawkers drove by on both sides of the highway, and at least four
pickup trucks pulled over on a side street parallel to U.S. 101 to
watch though a fence.
Two small SUVs were smashed in, steel guts spilling out as they sat on flatbed tow trucks on the shoulder of U.S. 101 in Gilroy. Gawkers drove by on both sides of the highway, and some pickup trucks had pulled over on a parallel side street to watch though a fence.
The damaged vehicles were part of a four-car accident at 11: 09 a.m. Friday in the northbound side of U.S. 101, just south of the Masten Avenue overpass.
Three of the four people involved in the crash had minor injuries, said investigating Officer Gary Gray of the California Highway Patrol. One man was transported to Regional Medical Center of San Jose “for precautionary measures,” he said, while the others were picked up by family or friends.
Gray said the cause of the wreck is under investigation. But he noted that California Department of Transportation workers were doing road work in the center lane of the three-lane highway near the accident scene.
All four drivers were wearing their seat belts, and Gray said there is no reason to believe alcohol, drugs or distractions such as cell phones played a role. Their cars were towed from the scene.
The two vehicles on the flatbeds, a red Chevrolet Blazer and a black Honda Fit, had rolled over in the crash. Both appeared totaled, with the heaviest damages concentrated on one side of each car.
The driver’s side of the Blazer, for instance, looked only dirty and lightly banged up. But the rear passenger’s side was a mash of steel, as if it were hit with a bomb.
The Fit’s front windshield was bashed in and its driver’s side doors were damaged, but the car looked salvageable. However, the passenger’s side was smashed and crumpled, with steel parts spilling out.
Another car involved, a white Toyota, appeared to have minor exterior damage. The front of the fourth car, a GMC Yukon, was smashed in on the driver’s side, but most of the car appeared fine.
Officers, firefighters and paramedics arrived on scene just a few minutes after the collision, according to the CHP. Both the left and middle lanes of the northbound side were initially blocked, and at one point, two men were sweeping debris from those lanes toward the center divide.
The middle lane was reopened at 11:52 a.m., and the CHP planned to keep the left lane closed until at least 12:20 p.m.
There were traffic jams on both sides of the highway after the accident, but by around 12:10 p.m., congestion on the southbound side had started to ease. In the northbound lanes, traffic was still backed up to Leavesly Road at that time.
