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The driver of a Honda SUV was killed after the vehicle slammed into the back of a flatbed truck on southbound U.S. Highway 101 in Menlo Park early Wednesday morning (Sept. 4), according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP said the collision was first reported at 1:24 a.m. The Honda was traveling at a high rate of speed when it struck the other vehicle – which was going approximately 45 mph – in the No. 1 lane.
The SUV then overturned and landed on the right shoulder, the CHP said. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
As of 6 a.m., the southbound No. 4 lane and the Marsh Road onramp to southbound U.S. 101 remained closed with no estimated time of reopening.
There are no reports of other injuries.
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Why would a truck be going so slowly in the fast lane in the middle of the night? I would think the truck driver should share some blame in this accident if this is true. But maybe this is an error in reporting and it was actually in the slow lane?
A car is a 5,000 lb death machine. The driver – the operator – is responsible for operating his or her vehicle safely.
No matter how slowly a vehicle of any kind is moving on a freeway (or for that matter, a residential street), slamming into the back of it, at ANY rate of speed (especially a high rate of speed), does NOT bring the original vehicle into responsibility. There are about 100 different things that Honda driver could have done – including slowing down himself, maneuvering around the vehicle, reporting it to CHP if it was making traffic around it unsafe. And the list goes on….
While I am sorry he perished, this was clearly reckless driving on the Honda driver’s part. Thank goodness he didn’t kill or maim anyone else (I hope he didn’t).
And not that it matters or changes my logic above, but as described above, the Honda rolled and came to rest in the right shoulder. So it may have been that the truck was in the slow lane. Still…. as I said doesn’t change what I’ve said here.