Morning I-880 Crash, Car Fire Began When Vehicle Rear-Ended

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA – A rear-end collision led to a car fire and left one driver with major injuries on Interstate Highway 880 in Milpitas early this morning, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said.

The collision was reported on northbound Highway 880 south of state Highway 237 around 5:30 a.m., CHP Officer Ross Lee said.

Initial reports indicated there were 10 cars involved, but further investigation showed the driver of a Ford F-350 rear-ended a Nissan sedan that caught on fire, Lee said.

Multiple motorists passing by pulled over to help, including three people who reached into the Nissan and freed the driver out of the sedan through a window, according to Lee.

The Nissan driver was transported to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose for severe burns and broken ribs, Lee said.

One of the rescuers suffered minor burns and smoke inhalation, according to Lee.

The Ford driver told investigators that he glanced down for a moment while behind the wheel and looked up to see two red taillights. The Ford driver wasn't sure if the vehicle ahead of him stopped or was slowly
coming to a stop and ended up hitting the Nissan at full speed, Lee said.

Officers are looking into whether the rear-end collision was related to a prior call of a car stalled in lanes in the area, according to Lee.

A Sig-alert was issued at 5:40 a.m. blocking all northbound lanes until about 7:30 a.m., CHP officials said.

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