Victim ID'd in fatal crash in San Jose on Highway 101

Bay City News
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Fatal accident cleared from SB Hwy 101 in San Jose
A 44-year-old Fremont woman was arrested following a crash that left another woman dead on Hwy 101 in San Jose.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- A woman killed in a crash on U.S. Highway 101 in San Jose early Monday morning was identified today at 26-year-old Sandra Lopez, according to the Santa Clara County medical examiner's office.

Around 2:40 a.m. Monday, officers responded to a report of a collision on southbound Highway 101 north of Tully Road, California Highway Patrol Officer Ryan Fifield said.

Lopez was driving a blue 2010 Toyota Scion that crashed into a concrete center divider, landed on its side and was struck by a red 2001 Acura CLS driven by 44-year-old Fremont resident Carmen Venegas, Fifield said.

Officers arrived to find the Toyota on a lane and the Acura in a ditch on the right shoulder, he said.

Emergency crews responded to the scene and pronounced Lopez dead at the scene, according to Fifield.

Lopez was a San Jose resident, CHP officials said.

Venegas has been arrested on suspicion of DUI, vehicular manslaughter and driving without a license, according to the CHP.

Venegas was transported to Regional Medical Center of San Jose for minor injuries and was later found to be allegedly under the influence of alcohol, Fifield said.

Two children in the Acura suffered minor injuries and were transported to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, he said.

A 34-year-old woman also inside the Acura was taken to Regional Medical Center for moderate injuries, he said.

Venegas was booked into the Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas, where she is being held on $150,000 bail, according to jail records.

Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to call CHP Officer Montgomery at (408) 467-5400.