SAN RAFAEL (CBS SF) — California Highway Patrol investigators have determined a big-rig slammed into a car stalled on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, triggering a fatal collision that shut down eastbound traffic on the span for several hours.
The driver of the car died in the collision. The CHP and Coroner’s Office did not release the crash victim’s name in its Thursday update.
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CHP officers and fire crews responded to the eastbound span of the bridge at 6:56 p.m. Wednesday after receiving a call about a traffic collision involving a big-rig and a sedan.
Scene of fatal crash and fire on the eastbound direction of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge on January 26, 2022. (Caltrans)
Frightened 911 callers told officers the vehicles had exploded into flames. The truck driver had gotten out of the wreckage, the driver of the 1988 Toyota Supra could not be seen.
According to the preliminary CHP investigation, a 2013 big-rig truck towing an empty semi-trailer was traveling east on the bridge when it crashed into a 1988 Toyota Supra that had stalled directly ahead of the truck.
The driver of the truck, identified as a 41-year-old Chowchilla man, was not injured in the collision. The driver of the Toyota was trapped inside the vehicle and was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The CHP was still trying to determine why the big-rig driver failed to stop prior to the collision. Drugs or alcohol do not appear to have played a factor in the crash.
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Caltrans inspectors took hours to survey the damage, eventually approving re-opening lanes after determining the intense flames had not damaged the structure.
Source: sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com.