2 dead after car strikes overturned vehicle, victims in South Bay

(KRON) — Two people escaping from an overturned vehicle on Highway 101 in Santa Clara overnight Sunday were struck and killed by an oncoming car, according to the California Highway Patrol.

First responders were alerted at 1:11 a.m. to the crash on northbound 101, just north of Great America Parkway. A 2023 Hyundai Elantra had been rear ended by an unknown vehicle, causing the car to crash into the concrete median and flip over, according to a preliminary investigation by the CHP.

Two occupants in the overturned Elantra, a 44-year-old Menlo Park man and a 27-year-old San Jose woman, were able to get out of the car. Shortly after, a 2016 Hyundai Accent crashed into the wrecked vehicle and the two victims.

The woman was thrown into the southbound lanes of 101, where she was struck by multiple other vehicles, CHP said. After the man was struck, he came to a rest in the median.

Responders pronounced both victims deceased at the scene.

The fatal crash remains under investigation. Further information about the drivers of the two vehicles that struck the victims’ Elantra was not released.

Anyone who witnessed the collisions or has information for law enforcement is asked to contact the CHP San Jose Area Office at 408-961-0900.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated after CHP clarified its initial report.