CHP seeking hit-and-run driver

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Oct 12, 2006 | by Ben Aguirre Jr., STAFF WRITER

FREMONT -- The California Highway Patrol was looking Wednesday evening for the driver of a red Honda car that may have triggered a seven-vehicle crash that sent two people to the hospital earlier in the day.

Two drivers suffered minor injuries and a pregnant woman was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons about noon Wednesday when, witnesses said, the Honda rear-ended a Ford Escort in the northbound lanes of Interstate 880 near Thornton Avenue, a crash that eventually also involved vehicles on the southbound side of the freeway, CHP Officer Sig Neri said.

According to witness and victim statements, the Honda hit the Escort, causing the Escort to veer across three lanes of traffic and hit a pickup truck in the fast lane, Neri said.

The driver of the pickup then swerved to the left and lost control of his vehicle, which landed atop the center divider, he said.

As the truck came to rest, concrete chunks broke off the divider and landed in the fast lane of southbound traffic, prompting the driver of an oncoming Ford van to swerve to avoid a crash, Neri said.

But as the van moved to the right, it hit another vehicle. That crash then sent the van back into the fast lane, where it collided with a Toyota Tacoma that had been following behind, the officer said.

That final collision left debris on the road that punctured the oil line of a car that was following closely behind, Neri said.

The crash halted traffic in both directions on I-880 for about an hour as tow trucks and road sweepers cleared the freeway and CHP officers began their investigation. It was the second crash that snarled traffic Wednesday on Fremont freeways.

Earlier in the day, about 6:30 a.m., two big rigs collided on southbound Interstate 680 near Andrade Road, backing up traffic to Interstate 580 in Dublin, the CHP said.

One of the trucks, a two-trailer rig that was carrying sand, tipped over, sending sand and other fluids onto the roadway, authorities said.