Three San Jose residents were killed in a Madera County car crash last week. Authorities say that the crash happened last Tuesday around 8 a.m. when a semi-truck overturned and spilled cotton bales across Highway 152.
A San Leandro man driving a Volvo swerved to avoid the overturned truck and slammed head-on into a Honda containing the San Jose residents. The Associated Press reports that the three people in the Honda were all killed and that the Volvo driver was hospitalized with moderate, non-life threatening injuries.
It is unclear why the truck overturned in the first place, but ancillary accidents are common when trucks crash on California highways.
Other common causes of highway car accidents such as this one are speeding and oversteering. Individuals who oversteer to avoid obstacles in the road may lose control of their vehicles and cross into oncoming traffic.
Oversteering is also associated with vehicles overturning. SUVs and other top-heavy cars are more likely to overturn than others. Individuals who fail to wear seatbelts in these crashes often sustain catastrophic injuries due to being ejected.
It is unclear whether the San Jose residents were wearing safety restraints in this crash.
Another head-on crash blocked the northbound lanes of the Golden Gate Bridge this morning. Authorities say that the crash happened around 8 a.m. and injuries have not been fully reported.
Source: Associated Press, “CHP: San Jose residents killed in Madera County crash,” Nov. 28, 2012
