Suspected Drunk Driving North In Southbound I-280 Lanes To Blame For Morning Crash: CHP

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA – The suspect in a head-on DUI collision early this morning on Interstate Highway 280 in San Jose has been identified as 23-year-old Tarick Dereje of North Hollywood, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said.

Dereje was allegedly driving a Volkswagen Golf north in the southbound lanes of Highway 280 south of Bird Avenue and collided head-on with a Chevrolet at about 3:30 a.m., CHP spokesman Officer Ross Lee said.

Shortly after that, a BMW also struck the Volkswagen.

The suspect was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, a CHP spokesman said.

Dereje and the Chevrolet driver, a 24-year-old Livermore woman, were taken to a hospital with injuries that are considered major but not life-threatening, Lee said.

The driver of the BMW, a 29-year-old San Jose woman, did not suffer any significant injuries, according to Lee.

The collisions scattered wreckage across all of the southbound lanes. At 4:23 a.m., the far right lane was opened and by about 5:40 a.m., all lanes reopened to traffic, according to the CHP.

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