24 Year Old Driver Died of 'Natural Causes' Prior to Highway 24 Wreck: Coroner

LAMORINDA,CA — The Contra Costa County coroner's office identified an Antioch woman who died after a collision on state Highway 24 Wednesday morning as 24-year-old Trista Allen.

Allen worked at Diablo Ink Tattoo in Pleasant Hill, according to an employee at the shop. According to her Facebook profile, Allen had also worked at St. Dorothy's Episcopal Camp and Retreat in Sonoma County. She graduated from Antioch High School in 2010 and studied at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg.

The coroner's office said that she died of natural causes related to a medical event that precipitated the crash.

California Highway Patrol officials said Allen was traveling west on Highway 24 just west of Acalanes Road in a Nissan Altima at about 8:45 a.m. when she apparently suffered the medical event and veered to the right
and hit the left side of a Nissan truck.

The Altima drifted back to the left and came to rest in the center median.

Allen died after being transported to John Muir Medical Center.

— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock