Deadly El Camino Real Crash 'Spectacular'

SANTA CLARA, CA — A Seaside man died in a spectacular solo-vehicle crash early this morning on El Camino Real in Santa Clara, police said.

Capt. Wahid Kazem called the crash "spectacular" because of the speeds and trajectory at which the Seaside man's Toyota Camry was going as it traveled down the street at 4:46 a.m. near Alviso Street.

Kazem said that the 30-year-old single occupant was driving west on El Camino Real on the wrong side of the road when he lost control of the Toyota and ran over the center median into lanes of traffic.

The Toyota continued across four westbound lanes and onto the sidewalk at El Camino Real and Alviso Street, striking a small retaining wall separating the sidewalk and the parking lot of a motel, Kazem said.

The impact of the vehicle smashed the retaining wall and carried the Toyota into two large metal shipping containers, also known as Conex boxes, in the parking lot of the motel, according to Kazem.

The force of the impact moved the metal boxes several feet and caused the vehicle to become pinned between two of them and come to rest on its side.

Kazem said that the first reporting officer initially could not see the car, believing that the damage could be attributed to a hit-and-run, as the two metal containers, the retaining wall and the early morning darkness obscured the scene.

Crews started working just before 5 a.m. to move the car, remove the dead man, and clear all of the destroyed elements from roadways, Kazem said.

CHP officials don't know now whether drugs or alcohol played a part in the death.

"We were very fortunate that the crash happened before traffic really started up," Kazem said. "It could have been much worse."

The captain said that he himself just missed the crash by a few minutes, as it happened close to the Santa Clara Police Department.

— Bay City News; Image via Patch