Crime & Safety
Fatal Accident on Interstate 80 Kills Oakland Father
The driver of a white Ford Explorer was killed when his SUV flipped over west of Buchanan Street. His family was in the car with him during the crash.
The California Highway Patrol has re-opened all lanes on Interstate 80, just west of Buchanan Street in Albany, after a fatal crash involving an Oakland family on Monday morning.
Five lanes were blocked on eastbound I-80 after the crash, which happened just before 10 a.m., a California Highway Patrol officer said.
At 12:09 p.m., the lanes were re-opened, said Sgt. John Carman of the CHP. The Berkeley on-ramp at Gilman was also scheduled to re-open.
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A 48-year-old father driving a white Ford Explorer was killed when his SUV rolled over, CHP officer Sam Morgan said. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.
The man's wife was taken to Highland Hospital with broken right leg. Two children in the SUV had complaints of pain, said Morgan. He said he thought all three were taken to the hospital together.
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The family was traveling on eastbound I-80 when the father swerved left and then swerved right for unknown reasons, Morgan said. The SUV overturned multiple times.
There was no indication that drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash, but it will take several weeks to get the toxicology report to rule it out completely.
"Even though it does happen, it's very rare for a dad to be driving his whole family under the influence," Morgan said. "I've had one case like that in more than 20 years. And it wasn't a collision. We pulled him over for swerving."
The man was not reported to be speeding, Morgan said.
Officers are investigating whether a medical condition or debris in the roadway could have contributed.
"Another thing we see, a lot of times people see debris in the road, and put in too much steering. When you have hazards that you need to get around, just put in enough steering to get around," said Morgan. "This being an SUV, the center of gravity is higher, so there's a better chance of having a rollover. All of these things will be determined in our investigation."
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