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Three emergencies dramatically slowed north-south traffic through Redwood City and Atherton on Friday, including two incidents that left two men dead.
At 5:46 a.m. on Sept 27, Atherton police were notified of a body lying on the side of Glenwood Avenue near Middlefield Road. Police closed Middlefield Road between Encinal and Oak Grove avenues for much of the day; the road reopened at about 4 p.m.
The man, fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver, is Jeffry Zeman, 60, of Redwood City, according to police.
At about 2:15 p.m. the same day, a three-vehicle collision on El Camino Real in Atherton took the life of Ning Lenin Lee, 64, of Redwood City, and left the driver of the car in which Mr. Lee was riding with major injuries, police said. Authorities closed southbound El Camino, and it remained closed into the evening.
Exacerbating the traffic situation was the closure of Woodside Road at El Camino Real — the result of an 8:20 a.m. propane-tank explosion at a U-Haul storage facility in Redwood City that had firefighters draining a 1,000 gallon-tank of propane. El Camino did not reopen until about 4:15 p.m.
Hit and run
Because the Glenwood Avenue site was considered a crime scene, police “locked down” the area to minimize disturbances so that investigators, including the county coroner and crime-lab personnel, could collect evidence without compromising the integrity of what could become a criminal case, Atherton Police Chief Ed Flint said.
The investigation is expected to be lengthy, Chief Flint said. “There are more unknown answers right now than we have questions,” he said.
Police issued a news bulletin Friday morning letting residents along Glenwood and Middlefield know that police will be asking for any surveillance video from security cameras to assist in the investigation.
The vehicle that struck the pedestrian drove away and has not been found, Atherton police Lt. Joe Wade said. Police are asking witnesses or anyone with information on the case to contact Atherton police at 688-6500. “We have received a couple of phone calls,” Chief Flint said.
The Menlo Park City School District had issued bulletins warning parents of the road closure, and later asked parents to find alternative routes to pick up their children after school.
Selby Lane collision
Mr. Lee, who had been a passenger in a red Buick Century, died at Stanford Hospital later that day. The Buick’s driver, a 55-year-old Cupertino man, suffered major injuries but is expected to make a full recovery, Officer David Metzger of the Atherton Police Department told the Almanac.
The Buick was making a left turn into Selby Lane from northbound El Camino Real when it was hit broadside by a southbound silver Honda Acura driven by a 21-year-old East Palo Alto man, police said. The force of the collision pushed the Buick into the side of a white Ford van turning onto El Camino from Selby Lane, police said.
Investigators have not yet made a determination as to who was at fault in the Selby Lane accident, but are “close to it,” Officer Metzger said.
Atherton is earning the nickname Crasherton and needs Caltrans to engineer and build safety into that dangerous stretch of El Camino.
Someone had the nerve to blame the victim in the other thread: “Taking responsibility for one’s actions is not something that be fixed by more yellow paint, curbs or lighting.”
When it should be: “Taking CIVIC responsibility – fixed by more yellow paint, curbs or lighting.”
Crasherton. Prefect. Accurate. What will it take to shame Atherton into Actionton? Atherton should be all over Caltrans for help.
Hey Crasherton “Taking responsibility for one’s actions is not something that be fixed by more yellow paint, curbs or lighting.” was not blaming the victim. It was blaming the heartless person that left the scene without rendering aid. You can’t fix that lack of moral compass with paint and lights. I know you want to blame everyone but the driver but the reality is it’s the driver’s fault. Civic responsibility is an empty feel good statement. Civic didn’t kill the man, it was an individual.
@Atehrton – “Civic responsibility is an empty feel good statement.”
The kind of community spirit that built America. Way to go, Aherton, showing your true colors. “We don’t put lights or dots on the road, no curbs, you’re on your own so we can have our imitation Carmel-like village.”
May you and yours survive that kind of attitude. Others as well.
The Police Report said that the victim’s body from the Hit and Run had been moved from the site of impact. I hope Police are examining residents’ cars in the area.
Good time to remind everyone that when walking alongside a street, ALWAYS walk facing traffic which means on the LEFT side of the street. About half the people walking out there have their back to traffic that passes close to them. They are so self-confident that they apparently think no one would dare hit them. That’s a deadly attitude and may be a contributing factor in the unfortunate accident reported above. Drive Right, Walk Left!
Hit-and-run is not an accident. Killing someone and leaving them to die alone in the street is essentially premeditated murder.
“Hit-and-run is not an accident. Killing someone and leaving them to die alone in the street is essentially premeditated murder.”
So much in error with that statement.
An accident, whether killing someone or not, is still an accident. The crime is leaving if you knew you hit someone. Until the police release details, it’s all speculation.
There was a published police statement, early on, that there was evidence suggesting that the body had been moved.
“moved”
Define.
Moved? Moved by hand? Moved by impact? Multiple impacts? Two or more vehicles? By the gravitational pull of the moon?
Or just wait, until the report is released. But yes, I hope they review all the vehicles driving through the area that night. It’s a public roadway, and one of the few entrances to Lindenwood.
El Camino Real in Atherton needs to be cut down to 2 lanes in either direction. That would make it the same as Redwood City and Menlo Park. Atherton has a freeway between its north and south ends. With 3 lanes, drivers almost always have the ability to exceed the speed limit and often do.
Atherton also needs to step up to the fact that the area is becoming more developed and congested. The horse and carriage streets that once served the community well are not adequate. They don’t comply with modern standards to striping and signs. Pedestrians and bicyclists have to make do with unsafe, unlit roadways.
In both cases, the result is unnecessary injury and death.
Can someone explain to me what this statement means – “There are more unknown answers right now than we have questions,”
DA Steve Wagstaffe bad mouthed the hit and run victim in today’s paper, stating he had been twice arrested for being drunk in public. Was this guy hit by a police car?
Was that bad mouthing, or just stating a fact?
“Was that bad mouthing, or just stating a fact?”
Fact or not, what does it have to do with the case at hand. Wagstaffe should have shut his mouth.
mmm, drunk or not, hit and run is a crime. Sad, sad, death.
The fact that this victim was arrested twice before for a trivial offense that harmed only himself is totally irrelevant, and Mr. Wagstaffe should have thought about embarrassment and/or distress his diarrhea of the mouth could cause his family during this very difficult time. It shows really poor judgment on his part.
The comments about the deceased hit & run victim being drunk remind me of when a now Menlo cop killed a homeless guy, accidentally, with his car. This was before he was a cop, working as a non-sworn police employee.
I’ve now heard that the deceased, Mr. Jeffry Zeman, is a United States veteran.
Steve Wagstaffe, that’s a lot more relevant information about this victim than the fact he was once drunk in public, or jaywalked, or whatever other petty offense you want to smear him with. Shame on you.
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