New video shows man driving wrong way before killing 2 on San Jose freeway

Wrong-way driver's records in Florida listed several traffic infractions including one misdemeanor for careless driving

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Wednesday, August 28, 2024
Video shows man driving wrong way before deadly San Jose freeway crash
Video shows the moments a truck traveled several minutes in the wrong direction on a busy San Jose freeway before killing two people on Monday.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Video shows the moments a truck traveled several minutes in the wrong direction on a busy San Jose freeway before killing two people on Monday.

Footage shared with ABC7 on Tuesday shows the Toyota Tacoma traveling the wrong way on Northbound Highway 85.

The California Highway Patrol said that the truck traveled in the wrong direction for several miles before the tragic crash near the Highway 85 and 87 interchange.

PREVIOUS STORY: 2 San Jose residents killed by wrong-way driver on State Route 85, CHP says

Two people died in a wrong-way crash on State Route 85 in San Jose on Monday, the California Highway Patrol said.

Officials said they first got calls around 3:40 in the afternoon that Monday.

"Some of the first calls that we had put the pickup truck in the area of 85 and Saratoga which is several miles," Officer Ross Lee with the CHP said.

The CHP confirming that a 47-year-old woman and 14-year-old boy were killed in that crash.

Though the Santa Clara County Coroner's Office has not officially named the victims on Tuesday, an email was sent to families at the school the boy attended.

It stated that he was in 9th grade and that his family said he was happy at the school he only got attend for a short time.

The new school year started less than two weeks before the crash.

Officials say the driver of the truck was a 39-year-old man, who was hospitalized with major injuries.

The pickup had Florida license plates.

A check of his name found records in his Florida county listing several traffic infractions including one misdemeanor for careless driving.

MORE: 1 injured after driver crashes into Santa Cruz Co. school bus with students on board

A driver slammed head-on into a school bus with more than 40 kids on board near Watsonville in Santa Cruz County.

Patrick Garrison lives just by the Highway 85/87 interchange where the crash happened.

He heard about the crash when his daughter called him.

"She called me just to make sure I was okay," Garrison said, "I said, 'What's up?' She said Oh, there was a fatal accident.'"

Garrison said he lived by the freeway for nearly a decade and has seen bad crashes.

Still he says the cause of this crash, is one the most shocking he's heard of.

"It's heartbreaking," he said, "And to be driving the wrong way during the daylight. It's just crazy."

The CHP said it is still investigating why the driver was going the wrong way and where he came from on the freeway.

Officials tell us that the suspect is still in the hospital and has not been booked.

Investigators are looking into felony manslaughter charges.

The CHP asks any witnesses to please come forward.

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