1 Dead, 6 Hurt After Crash With CHP Car On Hwy. 101 In Palo Alto
PALO ALTO (CBS SF) -- A 24-year-old woman was killed, and six others, including a California Highway Patrol officer, were injured in a crash on northbound U.S. Highway 101 in Palo Alto on Friday morning, according to the CHP.
The crash involving an SUV and a CHP vehicle, closed lanes and tied up traffic for more than six hours
The collision occurred around 7 a.m. at Embarcadero Road. All lanes were open at 1:20 p.m., however the Embarcadero Road off-ramp and Oregon Expressway on-ramp remained closed as of 2 p.m., according to the CHP.
There is no estimated time when those ramps will reopen.
KCBS' Matt Bigler Reports:
The gold Lexus SUV that crashed into the CHP vehicle pulled over on the right-hand side of the road, was occupied by a San Bruno family. According CHP Officer Amelia Jack, the father was driving, the mother was in the passenger seat and four sisters were sitting in the back seats.
A 24-year-old woman, the oldest of the siblings, was ejected with another sister from the SUV, after the SUV struck the CHP vehicle.
The 24-year-old was killed and the other sister suffered major injuries, Jack said.
Before the crash, the CHP vehicle had pulled up next to a broken-down white pickup truck that was pulled over on the right-hand shoulder, authorities said.
After speaking to the truck's occupants, the CHP officer pulled up in front of the truck, which is when the SUV swerved onto the shoulder and hit the left side of the patrol vehicle, police said.
Then, the SUV flipped and came to a rest on the Embarcadero Road off-ramp after the two sisters were ejected.
The parents and two other sisters in the SUV, who were all wearing seatbelts, suffered various injuries.
Police said it was unclear if the sisters ejected were wearing seatbelts.
The CHP officer suffered minor injuries in the crash. He was the sole occupant in the vehicle.
He was taken to a hospital where he was treated. The officer has since been released, Jack said.
Drugs and alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the fatal collision, investigators said.
Following the crash, traffic was backed up as far south as the junction with state Highway 85, about 5 miles away, Jack said.
(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved.)
