SUNNYVALE — A driver was arrested early Sunday on suspicion of driving under the influence after she hit a woman walking on Highway 101 in the aftermath of another crash moments earlier, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The deadly collision was first reported at 1:27 a.m. Sunday in the southbound lanes past Mathilda Avenue near Sunnyvale. CHP Officer Ross Lee said a woman driving a gray Honda Civic rear ended a Nissan Xterra, prompting both drivers to pull over to the center divider.
The Honda driver at some point got out of her car and began walking south in the roadway between the leftmost two lanes, Lee said.
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She was then hit by a gray Mazda CX-5 sport-utility vehicle also heading south. Lee said the Honda driver, identified only as a woman in her 50s pending her formal identification by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office, died at the scene.
An ensuing investigation ended with the DUI arrest of the Mazda driver, who the CHP described as a 23-year-old San Jose woman. Neither she nor the Nissan driver in the first crash were injured, Lee said.
It remains unclear why the Honda driver hit the Nissan; Lee would only confirm that she was traveling at a high rate of speed when she hit the vehicle, which was also in motion.
Anyone with information about Sunday’s collision can contact the CHP San Jose area field office at 408-961-0900.