Highway Patrol responds to four deaths over holiday

Incidents included double-fatal collision, a reported tractor incident in foothills

SAN JOSE >> Fatal incidents claimed the lives of four people in vehicles on South Bay roads patrolled by the California Highway Patrol over President’s Day weekend, including a head-on collision near the Calero Reservoir that killed two drivers, according to the agency.

The deadliest case was reported at 9:17 p.m. Sunday on McKean Road, south of Schillingsburg Avenue and north of the reservoir.

According to a CHP news release, a man driving south in a 2002 Chrysler vehicle crossed the double-yellow lines separating directions of traffic and hit a northbound 2008 Toyota head-on.

Both drivers, who were the lone occupants of their vehicles, died at the scene, the CHP said. It was not immediately clear why the male driver, whose identity has not been publicly released, traveled into oncoming traffic.

The Toyota driver was identified as 68-year-old Milpitas resident Mitra Sadeghzadeh, according to the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office.

The CHP asked that anyone who either witnessed the crash or has information for investigators contact the agency’s HollisterGilroy office at 408-8482324.

Saturday, CHP officers in San Jose were called at about 5:45 p.m. to an accident involving a small tractor at Quimby Road and Deedham Drive in the city’s east foothills, just north of Murillo Avenue.

CHP Officer Ross Lee said a man was operating a tractor on his property that abuts Quimby Road, when it lost traction along an embankment and rolled over. The coroner’s office confirmed that 50-year-old San Jose resident Gavin Vess died from his injuries.

Monday, CHP officers were called to northbound Highway 101 south of Bailey Avenue, between San Jose and Morgan Hill, for a report of a vehicle blocking lanes. Responding officers arrived to find a Mercedes, now parked on the right shoulder, with its driver unconscious inside.

The driver, who the CHP described as a 67-yearold Morgan Hill man, was taken to a San Jose hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His identity has not been publicly released pending formal notification of his next of kin.

A CHP news release about the death stated that an examination of the scene found no evidence of a crash involving the Mercedes, and that the driver died “due to unknown medical conditions.”