Results tagged “crash”

High speed is being blamed for yesterday's Bay Bridge fatality, or so says Caltrans. The accident -- where a big rig truck toppled over the bridge at around 3:30 a.m. on Monday, killing the driving and reducing the truck to a pile of rubble -- occurred because the driver was going way traveling around 50 mph, or so said witnesses at the scene.

A big rig driver lost control of his truck at 3:30 a.m. this morning while negotiating the infamous S-curve on the Bay Bridge. The vehicle plunged 200 feet onto Yerba Buena Island, killing the driver. The far right lane was reopened at 7:45 a.m., but CHP expects residual delays. The driver, who was transporting pears, was going ten miles over the speed limit, and investigators suspect the truck's cargo might have shifted, helping to cause the crash. The bridge did not experience any structural damage from the crash.

The other day, while walking up Monterey Boulevard, we noticed makeshift "Slow Down" signs posted along the street. They're there for a good reason. Today, according to Picasa user Karen, a vehicle going way too fast crashed and flipped over along the heavily-trafficked strip.

According to KCBS Radio, a small "two engine" plane "took off and crashed" at the Hayward airport. We'll update as soon as we know more.

A fatal car collision happened at Fell and Broderick this morning at around 6:30 a.m.

A cable car collided with a van near Washington Street near Mason Street last night, injuring four. According to SF Appeal, "The crash happened at about 5:15 p.m." And "two passengers were taken to local hospitals and two others were treated at the scene." Yikes. None of the injuries, thankfully, were life-threatening.

According to a few frantic Twitter messages this morning, a moving van plowed into the side of a building, either near Dolores Park or somewhere in the Tenderloin.

SFAppeal breaks today's biggest (local) story: Chief Operating Officer for the SFMTA, Ken McDonald, resigned today. McDonald, who is in charge of Muni operations, gave no specific explanation for the sudden departure. But before you get all hot and bothered over last night's F-Market f-up, Appeal goes on to report that a "Muni insider we spoke to said that he believes that last night's accident was not related to McDonald's departure, but was 'just bad timing.'" McDonald will go into more detail later at today's 2 p.m. SFMTA board meeting. Until then, check out his resignation letter here.

Update: SFAppeal has the embeddable code. Why? Because some people understand the internet and online reporting. Anyway.

According to "a source close to the probe" over at that the L-Taraval driver was "slumped" over the train controls after the crash. Hm. Anyway, regarding the driver, a background check and drug tests are currently underway, which won't be done for several weeks. Also, said driver's name won't be released just yet. The entire investigation, it seems, might take "12-18 months," which, oddly enough, is the same amount of time one waits for a L train outside West Portal Station for the Muni traffic to clear. Update: Or was it a blackout? According to reports, an "early switch to manual power In the train tunnel" might have been the culprit. That, or God is punishing San Franciscans for yet another sin we committed. Stay tuned.

Last night around 2AM near downtown Oakland, an empty U.S. Postal Service truck slammed into another truck that had pulled over along I-880 in order to assist a woman who was having car trouble. The postal truck jack-knifed as it collided with the other truck, ruptured its own fuel tank, and exploded in a massive inferno which left one of the driver's injured and a dog in the woman's car dead. As KTVU reports, this caused a massive early-morning backup and two lanes on 880 remained closed into the commuting hours. Luckily, unlike the last enormous big rig inferno in that part of the world, this one does not appear to have melted an entire roadway.

A little after 8 p.m. on Tuesday night, the 71 Haight-Noriega (of course, it had to be the notoriously dodgy 71), crashed into a moving car at Market and Jones streets. Both vehicles were traveling east on Market before they smashed into each other. According to Muni spokeswoman Kristen Holland, "[p]reliminary reports indicate seven people were taken to the hospital and 23 others were treated at the scene for injuries sustained in the crash." None of the injuries were life-threatening. Why did the two hunks of steel ram into each other? Who's to say. This is Muni, a mystery wrapped questions rolled into a transfer. But the Muni driver in yesterday's crash has been placed on "non-driving status" until his pee tests positive or negative for substance abuse.

Shortly before 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, a charter bus carrying French tourists overturned on a Highway 101 overpass in Soledad, about 100 miles southeast of San Francisco, killing at least 5 and injuring over a dozen passengers. According to California Highway Patrol spokesman Brian Wiest, the accident ejected four passengers from the vehicle, "sending one over the side of the road and onto railroad tracks 60 to 70 feet below. "It's a tragedy," Wiest said. "It's certainly one of worst I've seen in a long time." KTVU reports that a total of "36 people had been on board, including 34 French tourists, one Canadian tour guide and an American driver." The group was driving down to Southern California, heading to LAX to fly back to France. Three patients were whisked away to Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital, who are still in critical condition. One, a 52-year-old man, later died, according to hospital spokeswoman Adrienne Laurent. No word yet on what exactly caused the accident.

At around 10:40 a.m. this morning, a Parking and Traffic Department worker crashed and overturned her vehicle, effectively closing down the eastbound Broadway Tunnel, according to reports. The unidentified driver has been whisked away to SF General; she is in serious condition. If you plan on going through the Broadway Tunnel, re-route accordingly.

Taking off from Oroville, CA (about 20 or so miles from Chico), a single-engine private passenger plane traveling to a ski trip crash crashed over the weekend, killing all 14 passengers. The plane went down in a fiery blaze into a cemetery in Butte, Montana. According to Reuters, "the plane was carrying a group of young children on their way to a ski vacation in Bozeman, Montana." KCBS confirmed that a St. Helena family was died on that flight. Dr. Erin Jacobson, his wife, and three children (ages 2, 3, and 4), went down with the plane. Jacobson worked at the Eye Car Center of Napa Valley.

Busy intersection Franklin and Fell, two vehicles crashed into each other at 7:30 a.m. this morning,sending the cars into a fire hydrant and into some construction material against the side of a building," according to CBS 5. It seems the fuzz "noticed a crack in [a brick] structure afterward and closed the intersection as a precaution." As of 10 a.m. only one lane is open.

Late this morning at around 10:45 a.m., there was a bike-car accident at Fell and Masonic. According SFIst reader Alex, it "seems like a Range Rover hit a bicyclist at the intersection. The fact that this happened after the new signals is just horrid."

This was mentioned in Day Around the Bay, but it's so Inside Edition-y hot right now, we felt compelled to capture some of its momentum and give it its own post. Anyway, the above headline comes courtesy of the San Francisco Bay Guardian. "That's the headline we'd be reading," says SFBG Editor Tim Redmond, "if one of the Navy stunt pilots had the same misfortune as the FA/18 pilot just did in San Diego." He goes on to point that this is something to think about come next year's Fleet Week air acrobatics. "If the supervisors decided not to invite the Navy precision flying team, they wouldn't come." Which: True. The tightness of those white Navy pants are exhilarating enough; however, others are livid that the crash is being used like this. But what say you?

"A small plane has crashed into San Francisco Bay near the new Bay Bridge construction. There are reports at least two people may have been rescued," screams CBS 5's homepage. (For a live copper at the scene, go here.) According to the Gate, at 2 p.m. a "single-engine plane crashed into water off the Bay Bridge" 500 or so yards from the Emeryville shoreline.

Speaking of Muni-related brilliance, after a 27-Bryant smashed into another vehicle at 23rd and Bryant streets, one passenger was sent to the hospital with "unknown" injuries. The accident happened just a little before 9 a.m. (Anyone see it?) Oh, and the driver of said 27-Bryant will be given a drug test and be "placed on non-driving status" as the powers that be investigate the cause of the crash. (CBS 5)

A little before 6:30 p.m. last night, two F-line streetcars rammed into each other at The Embarcadero and Washington, sending both operators and four passengers to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Other wounded passengers were treated on the spot. According to Judson True, SFMTA spokesking, "The collision is under investigation." Anyone with raw footage of the crash, like last June's T-Line crash over at AT&T Park, is urged to post it right-quick for our temporary amusement. (SFGate)

All but one southbound lane of Highway 880 in San Leandro has been shutdown after a big rig accident occurred around 9:30 a.m. this morning, near the Marina Blvd. exit. it seems that the big rig "crashed while attempting to avoid a vehicle fire," says CBS 5. In addition to fuel spilling across the northbound lanes, two people died during the crash. No word yet as to when it will reopen.

Greg Dewar of NJudahChronicles seems to be everywhere lately. Check out the latest gem he snapped up today over on Duboce and Church.

"MUNI on MUNI action" at Market and Seventh.

An unidentified man killed himself this morning after running his car into parked cars at 80 mph at Yolo and the Alameda. Just before the fatal wreck, it seems, he was sitting in his car in North Berkeley and in the process of taking his own life, via a tube coming out of the car's exhaust pipe. A homeless man noticed what was going on, removed the tube. The homeless gent then flagged down a Sargent Patty Delaluna at Bancroft Way and Fulton Street for help. According to the Gate:

Yeah. That's right. Another teenager, some more poor animals.

Let's hope no oil tankers crash into the Bay Bridge this week -- Gavin's out of town again, this time bundled up for snow as he campaigns for Hillary Clinton in Iowa. Not quite as temperate in the middle of the country right now as it was in his last two vacation spots this month -- guess Gavin still owes the Clintons for backing him in 2003 against non-Democrat Matt Gonzalez, huh?

This week we want to focus on the local music scene even though it seems that Portland natives' Blitzen Trapper and Stephen Malkmus have captured San Franciscan's hearts - Wednesday's show is sold out. (There aren't even any tickets available on Craigslist!)

We came back from taking down the recycling yesterday evening to find we had locked ourselves out of our apartment. "Noooo!!" [Insert Emo Darth Vader ballad here. Warning -- audio.] We dialed the apartment manager on the call-box but got his voice mail. Lucky for us, the manager, who wouldn't be back until 10:00, called our s.o., who wouldn't be back until 8:00, and our s.o. called our friend who lives a few blocks away. So, instead of being forced to sit on our lobby stairs all night, uncomfortably greeting all of our neighbors, we were soon whisked away and served pasta, wine, and a couple of episodes of the BBC version of "Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares."

During a hot pursuit, two men in a stolen Saturn -- a Saturn?! -- went through a red light, crashing into another car and killing two men inside the latter automobile. It seems that stolen vehicle was traveling east on Page Street when fuzz from the SFPD noticed that the car was swiped. Police then went after it, flashing lights and all, which resulted in this morning's fatal crash. The two suspects are being...