Teen driver killed in crash on Hwy 4 in Brentwood

BRENTWOOD, Calif. -- A 17-year-old driver was killed when he crashed head-on into a utility truck and nearly fell off of a state Highway 4 overpass in Brentwood early this morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The male driver was headed east with a 17-year-old female passenger asleep in his Toyota Tacoma when the truck drifted into the eastbound lanes and hit a GMC 6000 at about 4:30 a.m., CHP officials said.

The Toyota spun out of control, flipped, and landed on top of a concrete barrier along the Fairview Avenue overpass. The back half of the truck was dangling over the overpass while the front half remained on Highway 4, CHP Officer John Fransen said.

The driver was pronounced dead while still trapped in the truck and needed to be extricated. The passenger was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive, CHP officials said.

"Luckily the truck stopped how it did, it didn't have enough momentum to go over the overpass," Fransen said.

If the truck fell, the passenger likely wouldn't have survived, he said.

The GMC driver was not injured.

"I feel for the 17-year-old driver's family right before Christmas," Fransen said.

The Contra Costa County coroner's office is still working to determine his identity.

All lanes of the highway east of Balfour Road were shut down as authorities investigated the crash. They reopened at about 8:30 a.m., according to the CHP.

Investigators are looking into what led up to the crash, including whether the driver became distracted or fell asleep at the early hour. Fransen said it appears that drugs and alcohol were not a factor, but the coroner's office will make that final determination.

Witnesses to the collision are asked to call the CHP at (925) 646-4980.