Driver dies after crashing on Hwy 80 in San Pablo

SAN PABLO, Calif. -- A woman died after suffering major injuries early this morning when crashing a minivan on an embankment along Interstate Highway 80 in San Pablo, near Richmond.

At 4:12 a.m., California Highway Patrol officers first received a report of the crash, happening in the westbound lanes of the highway, just west of the San Pablo Dam Road off-ramp, according to the CHP.

When officers arrived, they found the woman pinned inside the vehicle, unable to get out, CHP officials said. Emergency extracted her, and she was taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead.

Investigators learned the driver was racing another unknown vehicle when she lost control of the vehicle and skidded across all the westbound lanes of the highway, according to CHP officials.

As a result of the crash, car parts and debris blocked the roadway.

At 4:39 a.m., officers issued a Sig-alert and closed the highway's westbound lanes between San Pablo Dam Road and McBryde Road, CHP officials said.

Around 6:30 a.m., all lanes of the highway reopened.