A horrific wrong-way crash occurred Monday afternoon in which a pickup truck being driven by a Florida man collided head-on with a woman's Tesla, killing her and her 14-year-old passenger.
The crash occurred around 3:40 pm Monday on northbound Highway 85 in San Jose. The driver of a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, Duncan McQuarrie, 39, of Orlando, Florida, was allegedly driving southbound in the northbound lanes near the Santa Teresa Boulevard exit.
As KRON4 reports, via California Highway Patrol, multiple drivers called CHP to report the wrong-way driver in the moments before the crash occurred. And a Reddit user posted dashcam video showing the white pickup driving the wrong way in a left-hand lane — it was speeding along in what appeared to be a buffer area between the northbound lanes and a carpool lane.
The truck collided with a Tesla Model Y being driven by a 47-year-old San Jose woman, who had a 14-year-old boy, possibly her son, in the passenger seat. Both died in the crash.
The CHP is saying it is unknown if drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash.
Another Reddit user commented on the video, saying they had seen where and how McQuarrie got onto the freeway going the wrong way.
"He got on 85 at the Saratoga off ramp," writes user jb0009. "I was maybe a hundred yards from the off ramp when he drove up it. He was going very fast, crossed over the dirt shoulder, kicked up a cloud of dust, and fishtailed his way across all four lanes. My son was in the car, we were on the way home from school. We called 911 and it took 3mins 50secs to get through. The operator said others had called about the same incident."
The crash led to a major traffic snarl Monday as all northbound lanes of Highway 85 were blocked for four hours. Traffic was diverted onto Highway 87.
McQuarrie is apparently no stranger to law enforcement. As NBC Bay Area reports, his arrest record shows multiple other arrests, including a citation earlier this year for driving without a license, one for possession of cocaine in 2021, and a DUI conviction in 2013.
Any other witness, or anyone with information about the suspect, is asked to call CHP at 408-961-0900.
Photo via Reddit