2 killed in head-on Highway 4 crash in Contra Costa Co. that caused EV fire

BRENTWOOD, Calif. (KGO) -- Two people were killed in a Contra Costa County collision Wednesday night that ignited a dangerous battery fire and shut down Highway 4 near Brentwood for hours.

All lanes of Highway 4 east of Balfour Road are fully open again, the CHP said on social media around 5:30 a.m. after the highway was closed overnight.

At 10:18 p.m. Wednesday, patrol officers went to the freeway's lanes near Fairview Avenue and found two vehicles that appeared to have hit head-on in the eastbound lane, CHP spokesperson said. Both drivers were killed.

One of the vehicles, an electric SUV, was on fire, and due to the dangers of the vehicle's battery, officers and other first responders were unable to approach it.

Fire officials say that those types of fires typically require extra work to put out and keep from reigniting.

The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District said that the other was about to catch fire, all while a grass fire was also burning.

Fire officials say electric vehicle fires pose different challenges and require different precautions than a car with a combustible engine.

"The batteries release a toxic gas that leeches the calcium out of your bones, which can tend to be proven to be fatal for whoever is in just that gas," Battalion Chief Jeff Burris said.

A hazmat team from Lafayette was called in and fire officials said they stayed on scene for another two hours to make sure the fire was completely out.

They also said that the crash itself was so severe that it's likely they wouldn't have been able to help the victims regardless of how soon they were able to put out the fire.

The cause of the collision is yet unconfirmed.

Bay City News contributed to this story.