1 Dead, 1 Arrested For DUI After Fiery Crash In Walnut Creek
WALNUT CREEK (CBS SF) -- One person died and another was injured, and subsequently arrested for driving under the influence, in a fiery two-vehicle accident early this morning on State Highway 24 in Walnut Creek, the California Highway Patrol reported.
At 1:21 a.m. today, the CHP got a call that a car, an orange 2003 Nissan "Z" car, was blocking Highway 24 on the connector ramp to northbound Interstate Highway 680, possibly the result of a collision.
But before the CHP arrived at the scene, another vehicle, a blue 2018 Chevy Volt headed east on Highway 24, slammed into the disabled Nissan. CHP officers and other emergency responders arrived to find the Nissan completely engulfed in flames.
The Nissan's driver, whom the CHP said remained unidentified late this afternoon, died inside the burning car. The Contra Costa County coroner's office was closed late this afternoon.
The driver of the Chevy Volt, 68-year-old Dennis Toshimi Tajiri of Concord, was taken to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek for treatment of minor injuries. While still at the hospital, Tajiri was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI.
He was later booked into the Contra Costa County Jail in Martinez on suspicion of felony DUI and gross vehicular manslaughter charges.
The accident remains under investigation. Anyone who witnessed it or has information about the events leading up to it is asked to call the CHP's Martinez office at (925) 646-4980.
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