Two little girls, ages 4 and 7, lost their lives in a tragic collision involving many vehicles on a highway near Gilroy, California.
A 25-year-old driver attempted to pass a semi-truck, which caused several crashes involving three other vehicles. The motorist was not impaired by drugs or alcohol when he caused the terrible accident by merging into oncoming traffic.
According to a press release from Califonia Highway Patrol (CHP) investigators, the accident was brought about by a 25-year-old male hailing from Los Banos who was driving a 2021 Tesla.
On a Friday morning, January the 8th, the man drove past a truck on westbound Highway 152 at Lake Road in Gilroy, according to CHP. He reportedly swerved into oncoming traffic on the east side, causing a collision with a Dodge, Subaru, and a Honda.
A man driving the Tesla suffered serious injuries and was taken to the hospital. A 30-year-old male in a Subaru from San Diego was struck in the accident. A woman driving the Honda and her two passengers, who were all residents of San Jose and were in their 60s and 70s, were sent to the hospital with minor injuries.
No injuries were recorded among the three other passengers in the Dodge: a man and a woman, both 32 years old, from Morgan Hill, and a child who is one year old. Similarly, the CHP reported that neither the man driving the truck (48) nor the female passenger traveling in the Subaru (35) from San Diego were hurt.
The two little girls, Valentina Ornelas, 4, and Elisa Ornelas, 7, who were in the Dodge, were gravely hurt. At the scene, Elisa was declared dead. Valentina was taken to a San Jose hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Hospitalization was necessary for the Tesla driver’s injuries. CHP said that investigators do not think he was drunk when the accident occurred, and he was not taken into custody.
The driver’s condition has not been updated.
Anyone with information on the incident is requested to call the California Highway Patrol (CHP) at (408)-427-0700. The investigation into the crash is ongoing.
