WATCH: Driver Loses Control Trying To Weave Through Traffic, Crashes Down Embankment In Sacramento
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — New video shows the moments a driver crashed on the Capital City Freeway while trying to weave through traffic in Sacramento.
The video was provided by a CBS13 viewer who did not want to be named. The witness said the crash happened Thursday in the eastbound lanes of the freeway between Arden Way and El Camino Avenue.
Multiple angles of the crash are captured in the footage. The person driving the vehicle can be seen attempting to get around a large truck and the vehicle in front. A moment later, as the driver attempted to get in front of the vehicle they had just passed, they lost control of the vehicle and crossed three lanes before crashing down an embankment.
The driver was the only person who could be seen in the car at the time of the crash. Their condition is unknown at this time.
The California Highway Patrol says, despite the aggressiveness, the driver of the sedan didn't commit road rage.
"It didn't seem like it was a highway violence or roadway incident," said California Highway Patrol Officer A.J. McTaggart.
So, what does count as a road rage incident?
"Was there any damage, was anything thrown, was anybody injured? If the answers to those questions are no, no and no then essentially there's no crime that occurred," McTaggart said.
Drivers we spoke to say the CHP may be setting the bar too high.
Atif Ahmadi is new to the driving scene with a permit. He says tailgating like the driver in the video would prompt him to call the police.
"I pray that something like that never happens to me," Ahmadi said.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, roadway fatalities increased 7.2% from 2019 to 2020 nationwide, but the California Highway Patrol expects that number to grow because, during a big chunk of that time, freeways weren't nearly as packed due to the pandemic.
"There are more people on the roadway now than there were in 2020," McTaggart said. "Because there are more people on the roadway, that number is inclined to go up."
"Traffic is always insane every single day," Ahmadi said.
CBS13 did try to reach out to the owner of the vehicle involved we did not hear back.