3rd victim dies of injuries in I-680 SUV crash in Pleasanton; some passengers not wearing seat belts
A third victim has died of injuries from a horrific crash that took place along Interstate Highway 680 in Pleasanton, authorities said Tuesday.
Six adults and two children were in a Honda Pilot SUV that swerved off the road Monday afternoon on southbound 680 just south of the Sunol Blvd./Castlewood Dr. exit., according to the California Highway Patrol.
The fire department said two adults died at the scene and two other victims were taken to the hospital. The Alameda County Sheriff's Office confirmed one of those victims succumbed to injuries on Monday night.
The CHP said officers responded to the solo vehicle crash at 2:35 p.m. and found two women dead at the scene, one inside the vehicle and a second who had been ejected out of the back window of the SUV. Neither had been wearing seat belts, the CHP said.
Two infants in the back row, one in a car seat and one in a seat belt, both suffered minor injuries, according to the CHP. The driver and the two infants were taken to Oakland Children's Hospital and all were in stable condition with minor injuries.
The driver told officers at the scene that he was traveling 65 mph and had a blowout to the right rear tire, the CHP said. The driver said he steered to the left to avoid an embankment along the west shoulder. The CHP said upon veering to the left, the tires rode partially up the center divider on the east side of the lanes and the driver lost control, veering back to the right across all lanes and becoming airborne, broadsiding a tree along the right shoulder.
According to the CHP, the SUV hit the tree on the driver's side about six feet above the ground, crashing down on the embankment and sliding down to its base.
The Honda Pilot was taken for evidence and CHP investigators would examine it for evidence of a tire blowout. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined as of Tuesday afternoon.
The crash closed the two right lanes of southbound 680 for about four hours.
On Monday evening, CHP investigators learned one of the major injury patients who had been seated with the infants had succumbed to her injuries. It was not immediately known if she was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.
The CHP said the other major injury patient was taken to San Jose Regional Hospital for a broken pelvis. She admitted she was not wearing her seat belt, according to the CHP.
