Crime & Safety

Man Killed at Bus Stop After Car Careens into Him

According to witnesses the vehicle was going too fast.

A middle-aged man has been killed when an out-of-control vehicle went through a light and hit him at the bus stop.

According to witnesses the navy-blue Audi A4 appeared to be going too fast and went through the light at California Street and Escuela Avenue. The car then hit a man at the VTA bus stop on the south side of the intersection and dragged him. A fire department source confirmed the fatality.

"Upon arrival it was determined that the pedestrian was deceased and that the driver had sustained injuries," said Jaime Garrett, spokeswoman for the . The department has not released information about the victim's identity.

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The Audi then came to a stop on the grounds of the Maplewood Apartment Community several yards from the bus stop and faced the wrong way from traffic.

The incident occured at 9:29 a.m. The driver was taken to a local hospital.

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Renee Contreras, property manager at the Maplewood Apartments at 1885 California St., said she believes the victim is a man she often sees waiting at the bus stop for the No. 35 VTA bus.

She said at about 12:30 p.m. that his body was on the lawn in front of the apartments, covered by a yellow tarp.

Contreras said that after hearing a crash, she went outside to find the Audi wrapped around a tree, with smoke coming from the vehicle. She said the car had also struck two other trees and a water line at the apartment building. Contreras said the body was about 30 or 40 feet from the bus stop.

She said the driver was sitting on a lawn near the crashed car with his head in his hands. She said she thought she heard him cussing.

"They said he was going pretty fast," Contreras said. Maplewood has no water for the time being, she added.

An eye-witness interviewed by the police department told Patch that he was driving westbound on California and about to make a left turn onto Escuela when he had to brake hard because the Audi was coming eastbound through the intersection.

Then he saw something flip over the hood.

"All I could think was I hope it wasn't a child or anyone," said Joshua, from Livermore, who has been . He did not want to give his last name.

Joshua then saw the body and realized that he had just been speaking to the man, whose routine is to take the bus at that corner.

According to Joshua, the driver—a man in his mid-20s—came out of the car and asked what had happened. The driver had glass in his forehead and a phone in his hand, he said.

"My hands are bloody because I began to take the glass out of his forehead," Joshua said.

Neighbors in the tight-knit community began to gather when they heard the commotion. Some speculated that they knew the victim, recognizable by his white hat, which remained next to the bus stop bench.

The Mountain View Police Department has closed California Street between Escuela Avenue and Mariposa Street. Traffic is being diverted up through Villa Street. VTA bus No. 35 has been rerouted along with traffic. Only that one bus stop was impacted, according to VTA Spokeswoman Brandi Childress.

Still shaken up, Joshua headed home to Livermore. He shared that his father was hit by a car in front of their house and that now this happened.

"I'm really traumatized," he said. "I have five kids, I just want to go home to them."

The Santa Clara County Coroner's Office arrived to the scene and was beginning their investigation.

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Bay City News contributed to the reporting.


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