Driving in the Bay Area can be dangerous due to the number of drivers on the road. Here is a list of recent fatal car accidents:
Man Dies when Ejected from Vehicle in I-580 Crash
RICHMOND, March 27, 2019 – A fatal crash on Interstate 580 in Richmond left one man dead early Wednesday morning, March 27. 43-year-old Charanjeet Gandham of San Rafael was driving eastbound on I-580 in a black Honda Accord. Around 2:05 a.m., Gandham lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the center divider near the Marina Bay exit.
The impact threw the driver from the vehicle and he ended up in the westbound lanes of the interstate. Emergency responders transported the man to Kaiser Permanente Richmond Medical Center for treatment. He died as a result of his severe injuries just after 3 a.m. Police investigators continue to look into what caused the man to lose control of the vehicle and crash.
Source: The Mercury News
One Woman Dead in San Carlos Crash
SAN CARLOS, March 26, 2019 – An early morning accident in San Carols left one woman dead on Tuesday. The crash happened around 6:33 a.m., near the intersection of Holly Street and the southbound off-ramp of US Highway 101.
Responding offers found a Honda HR-V and Ford F-250 truck were both involved in the accident. Deputies arrived to find the female driver of the Honda was not breathing. She was immediately transported to Stanford Hospital, where she ultimately died.
Police identified the woman as an Asian woman in her 60’s. The driver and two passengers in the truck were not injured and refused medical treatment. Due to the severity of the accident, investigations are being handled by the CHP’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team.
Source: KRON4
Car Plunges from Cliff, One Man Dead
MARIN COUNTY, March 23, 2019 – A male driver died Saturday morning after his car plunged more than 600 feet off a cliff in Mt. Tamalpais State Park. Around 10:12 a.m., a hiker in the park reported a four-door sedan had driven off a cliff on Ridgecrest Boulevard, which runs through the park.
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department dispatched a helicopter as a part of the rescue operation. Crews airlifted the only occupant of the vehicle up to the roadway and pronounced the man dead at the scene. Investigators are looking into the possible cause of the accident, and further details have not been released.
Source: KPIX 5
Multi-Vehicle Highway 101 Crash Kills One in Sonoma County
SONOMA COUNTY, March 22, 2019 – A fatal, multi-car crash closed all lanes of northbound Highway 101 near Geyserville Avenue in Sonoma County on Friday afternoon. California Highway Patrol responded to the collison around 3 p.m.
The crash involved four to five vehicles. One person was reportedly trapped in their vehicle. Officials from the Sonoma County coroner’s officials pronounced another dead at the scene at 3:21 p.m. The road remained closed for more than three hours and traffic was rerouted off the highway at the Geyserville exit.
Source: KPIX5
Shooting Causes Solo Vehicle Crash and Leaves One Woman Dead
PITTSBURG, CA, March 17, 2019 – California Highway Patrol investigators are still trying to determine the cause of a fatal crash and shooting on eastbound Highway 4 in Pittsburg. An Antioch woman, Destinee Hillary, 25, died in the incident. She was driving on Highway 101 near the Willow Pass Road exit around 2:30 p.m when the accident happened.
CHP discovered bullet holes in the driver’s side of the car, and investigators revealed that at some point, Hillary was shot. Responders pronounced her dead at the scene. It remains unclear if the shooting took place before or after the crash. An eyewitness said he saw Hillary’s car drift off the freeway and crash on the Willow Pass Road off-ramp. Witnesses did not report hearing or seeing any gunfire.
The incident left car parts scattered across the grass and a mangled guardrail. CHP officers said it is generally difficult to investigate these types of freeway shootings, and they continue to look for answers.
Source: KPIX 5
Tragic Collison Kills Three Siblings On Way to Visit Ailing Father
EMERYVILLE, March 2, 2019 – Three siblings lost their lives, and one was critically injured in a tragic accident on I-80 early Thursday morning. The four siblings were on the way to visit their dying father in a San Francisco area hospital when their car collided with a big rig illegally parked on the shoulder of westbound I-80.
Three siblings, Eli, Sarah, and Eva Villareal died in the crash. The fourth sibling, Aaron, also in the car at the time of the crash, remains in the hospital with a collapsed lung and broken leg. The mother and a fifth sibling are trying to make sense of what happened while at the same time coming to terms with the impending death of their husband and father. CHP officers cited the truck driver, who had pulled off the road to sleep. He was not injured.
Source: ABC7news
Facts about fatal car accidents in California
GJEL Accident Attorneys is a California personal injury law firm that strives to provide victims of car accidents with the compensation they deserve. In this article, we will provide a comprehensive look at fatal car accidents in California by examining the latest data from reliable sources such as the California Highway Patrol’s SWITRS report, the California Office of Traffic Safety, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
California Highway Patrol’s SWITRS Report
The California Highway Patrol’s SWITRS report is an in-depth and trustworthy source of information about traffic accidents in the state of California. The latest report, which was published in 2017, provides an overview of the most notable statistics about California traffic accidents. Here are some of the key findings from the report:
- 3,904 people were killed in 3,582 crashes, with an 8% chance of a fatal traffic accident killing more than one person.
- 277,160 people were injured in 193,564 crashes, with an average of 1.43 people injured in each injury-causing crash.
The SWITRS report also provides information on ten-year summaries of traffic statistics, monthly breakdowns of people killed or injured in traffic accidents, breakdowns of injuries and deaths by an hour of the day, day of the week, weather conditions, type of intersection, and more, as well as demographic information, such as motor vehicle registrations, number of licensed drivers, and miles traveled. It also includes information about the financial impact of traffic accidents and statistics for common safety factors, such as seat belt use and the involvement of alcohol. Additionally, the report includes separate sections devoted to trucking accidents and motorcycle accidents.
California Office of Traffic Safety Quick Stats
The California Office of Traffic Safety also compiles and publishes valuable statistics about collisions and other issues on California’s roadways. The data from the OTS includes key figures from as recently as 2019 and provides a slightly more up-to-date look at the state of traffic accidents in California compared to the SWITRS report. Some of the highlights from the OTS’s “quick stats” page include:
- Total traffic fatalities decreased by more than 5% from 2018 to 2019, from 3,798 to 3,606.
- Fatal crashes involving alcohol also decreased by 4.5%.
- Half of all drivers killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2019 who were tested for drugs tested positive, which is up 8% from 2018.
- Fatalities involving a victim not wearing their restraint properly decreased by more than 2% from 2018 to 2019 and account for around 625 deaths each year.
- Motorcycle fatalities and motorcycle fatalities involving someone not wearing a helmet both decreased.
- Motor vehicle fatalities among teenage drivers and passengers both decreased by double-digits from 2018 to 2019.
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety provides a national perspective on traffic safety statistics and provides data that goes back many years, making it easy to compare trends over time. Some of the key 2019 numbers from IIHS include:
- 36,096 people died in motor vehicle accidents in the United States in 2019, with California responsible for around 10% of fatal crashes.
- The economic cost of automobile crashes to the United States is $242 billion.
