SANTA CLARA — A midday street race on San Tomas Expressway turned deadly on Sunday when a Chevy Camaro traveling as fast as 100 mph swerved off the road to avoid traffic and hit a tree, killing its driver.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the driver of the dark blue 2010 Camaro was racing a silver Acura, which fled the scene and has not been located. The driver has yet to be identified by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office, but he is believed to be a San Jose man in his late 20s.
“Witnesses said the two vehicles were racing northbound at 100 mph when they came across stopped traffic,” said CHP Officer Ross Lee. “The Camaro veered right, went up on the sidewalk and became pinned between the tree and the sound wall.”
He said that while the Camaro caught fire, the driver was killed in the initial impact and the blaze was extinguished before it got into the car’s cabin.
The crash was reported around 12:30 p.m. just south of Homestead Road. Lee said that while cars do engage in street races on San Tomas, it’s not considered a particularly problematic stretch.
“Typically we’ll see that kind of activity later at night when there are fewer cars on the road,” Lee said.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. Nobody else was injured, but the impact of the crash sent debris flying over the sound wall and into neighboring backyards.
No additional details about the crash were available Monday.
The crash is under investigation, and Lee asked anyone with information about the Acura — possibly a TL or TSX model, with a sunroof — to contact the CHP at 408-467-5400.
Lanes remained closed an hour after the crash, with minor traffic backups in the area.
