Wet Roadways Trigger Fatal Crashes On 101 And 80
SAUSALITO (CBS SF) -- A delivery van traveling too fast for the wet conditions, careened out of control and flipped over in the southbound lanes of Highway 101 in Sausalito Sunday morning, ejecting the driver who died at the scene, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A storm system swept into the Bay Area early Sunday, dumping nearly an inch and half of rain in Kentfield and more than half an inch in San Rafael and Ben Lomond.
Throughout the region, the showers made driving hazardous and triggered several accidents.
The driver of a van died when he was ejected from the vehicle and it came down on top of him Sunday morning in Sausalito, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said.
At 8:36 a.m. someone called the CHP to say that a van went off the right side of southbound U.S. Highway 101, up an embankment and overturned back onto the highway, CHP spokesman Officer Andrew Barclay said.
In the process, the roof of the van came off, the driver was ejected and the van came down on top of him, killing him at the scene, Barclay said.
The crash occurred just north of Spencer Avenue.
Barclay said that the van had bald tires and the driver may have been speeding. The road was wet too.
Barclay said the driver was not wearing a seatbelt.
Three of four lanes of the highway were closed for a while. All lanes reopened at about 11:30 a.m.
Barclay said until an autopsy is performed on the driver, CHP officials won't know whether the driver was intoxicated.
Meanwhile, in the East Bay a Sigalert was issued for eastbound I-80 at the Berkeley curve where lanes had been closed down because of another fatal accident.
Callers alerted the CHP to the collision around 9:45 a.m.
CHP Officer Michael Hamer said the driver of a green Ford pickup truck lost control just west of the Emeryville exit.
"The pickup spun out and came to a stop blocking the Number Three lane," Hamer said. "A white Ford SUV traveling at a high speed for the wet conditions lost control and went sideways into the pickup."
Hamer said a passenger in the SUV died, the driver and another young passenger in the vehicle were taken to the hospital for treatment of their injuries.
"We would like to remind everybody that due to the wet conditions on the road, they should take this into account and adjust their speed accordingly," Hamer said.
At about 12:55 p.m. Sunday, the accident was cleared and all lanes were reopened.