Carquinez Bridge taking a grim toll
Families push for higher barrier after six deaths in nine months
Four young adults, including a woman who was pregnant.
A husband, who was helping out a friend who’d had too much to drink.
And a mysterious car thief, who was being chased by police.
Three crashes on the Carquinez Bridge have sent these six people plunging to their deaths in just the last nine months, leaving traffic officials, drivers and nearby residents stunned by the rash of tragic accidents on such a small stretch of Interstate 80 near Crockett.
Jenilee Berrios, a widow of one of the victims, decided she had seen enough after the last fatal crash and launched a campaign for a higher barrier wall on the deadly roadway. As of Tuesday, more than 8,800 people had signed the online petition, which calls for safety improvements on the eastbound approach to the bridge where it passes the C&H Sugar Co. plant.
The widow of Jesus Berrios, who was thrown from a motorcycle when it hit the wall on Sept. 22, said she was inspired to launch the campaign after four people died in a horrific crash June 16.
“It’s a lot to lose a child, to lose a husband,” Jenilee Berrios said, trying to hold back tears. “I would never want anyone to feel how we feel, because it’s such a great loss.”
The Chronicle obtained the fiveyear accident history for the particular segment of Interstate 80 and
“There’s been nothing that’s brought attention to the area until this past year.”
CHP Officer Dave Harvey
found that all three fatal collisions involved victims who were thrown or flipped over the 32inchhigh concrete wall. Each incident took place on an elevated stretch of eastbound I80 just past the Pomona Avenue exit to Crockett. The approach sits on a curve at the bottom of a downhill grade, about 200 feet above industrial storage areas, railroad tracks and the waters of the Carquinez Strait.
Four young adults, 19 to 22 years old, died in the June crash after their silver Infiniti SUV swerved out of control, flipped over the concrete wall and landed on a parked freight train before hitting the ground. The Contra Costa County coroner identified the victims as Cecilia Ayala, 22, of Hayward; Christopher Mata, 21, of Rodeo; Kyle Erickson, 19, of Pittsburg; and Perla Navarro, 19, of Richmond. Navarro was pregnant.
Another fatal crash occurred May 17, when a man in a stolen green Honda Civic was being chased by law enforcement. He failed to negotiate the curve and flipped over the wall. The car burst into flames when it landed on the shoreline. The fire burnt the man’s body so badly that neither the coroner nor law enforcement have been able to identify him, despite a number of pleas for the public’s help.
Jenilee Berrios lost her husband, Jesus, in September in nearly the same spot. He was helping a friend who had too much to drink, she said. Her husband sent the man home in someone else’s car and agreed to drive the friend’s motorcycle.
He never made it, losing control of the bike and striking the wall. The impact threw him off the bike and over the edge, CHP officials said.
“My husband was doing someone a favor and he lost his life,” Jenilee Berrios said.
CHP officials said that until recently the area of the bridge in question did not have a history of collisions, especially those as horrific as the recent crashes.
“There’s been nothing that’s brought attention to the area until this past year,” CHP Officer Dave Harvey told The Chronicle.
The Carquinez Bridge consists of two spans — the westbound Al Zampa Bridge, which opened in 2003, and the 1958 eastbound bridge.
The approaches and interchanges on the Crockett side of the bridge were rebuilt in 2003. A 1927 span that used to carry westbound traffic was demolished as part of the project to replace the seismically unstable parts of the bridge and its approaches.
Caltrans officials said that the concrete wall where the deadly crashes occurred is a standard height, but they’re investigating whether it needs to be raised in response to the recent spate of accidents.
Frank McCullough, head of the Crockett Chamber of Commerce, said residents of the small town, which was founded by the sugar refinery, are weary of the accidents and would support safety improvements.
“This is kind of a little, proactive community here,” he said. “Everybody has been really shocked and sad about what’s happened. I’m sure we’ll support whatever they can do to keep cars on the road instead of going over the side.”
Federal Glover, a Contra Costa County supervisor for the area, said he intends to work with Caltrans to make the bridge safer.
“I fully support any measures we can take to improve safety,” he said. “I am prepared to engage the agency in that discussion on behalf of Contra Costa residents who use the approach and cross the Carquinez Bridge.”
Meanwhile, Jenilee Berrios’ petition continues to gather signatures. She’s been in contact with some of the families of the June crash victims, and on Saturday she led a memorial procession through the curve and past the spot where they left the bridge.
Jenilee Berrios has already shown the families of other victims how to get to a spot beneath the bridge where, amid parked trucks, she has planted a white wooden cross to honor her late husband. The other families recently added their own crosses.
“It’s starting to look like a cemetery,” she said.