A 26-year-old Richmond woman died Saturday afternoon in a solo-crash off eastbound state Highway 4 in unincorporated Contra Costa County, a California Highway Patrol officer said.
The crash was reported just after 3 p.m. after the woman in a 2014 Nissan Maxima went off the south side of the highway at the Mc Ewen Road on-ramp to eastbound Highway 4, CHP Officer Brandon Correia said.
The Nissan traveled down an embankment and the victim was ejected from the car and died.
The name of the victim is not being released at this time, CHP officials said.
Authorities don’t know whether drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash. Anyone who saw it or the events leading up to it is asked to the CHP at (925) 646-4980.
photo credit: Craig Cannon
Was she speeding? It is a little early in the day to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. although it cannot be ruled out.
Too early? You realize people that abuse wake up and use, right? Not saying she was under the influence but addicts walk around under the influence on a daily.
Cue TraumaRX….
That is sad. I am so sorry for the loss of life so young.
Always wear your seatbelt.
Everyone is in a hurry to get nowhere these days.
Slowdown and smell the roses.
So young. Very sad. Don’t they have cameras on Hwy. 4? Maybe that would provide a reason for the fatal accident.
There are cameras on Hwy 4 east of 680. This stretch of 4 is pretty much rural, and I don’t think they have cameras. But, maybe a good idea since there have been so many fatal crashes on this stretch of road recently.
Very sad.
Not surprising on that highway-all kinds of unsafe driving occurs there. Not well patrolled, but ultimately, it’s up to the driver.
Makes no sense why there’s no patrols.
CHP was put in this area last night in their plane…..were they testing their plane or patrolling??
Geez, another one? This area, coco city, has had numerous deaths this year on off ramps. Drugs or speed. Then not to wear a seat belt? Wake up youngsters!
Seems like that’s three in one month. Slow down and pay attention.
I’ll chime in on this daily occurrence. It wasn’t a medical emergency…..it was Driving at a high rate of speed PERIOD.
Had I been an eyewitness, I would have remained at the scene to tell police exactly what I saw.
Way too many unskilled drivers out there with Zero Experience driving like this and this is the result.
“Had I been an eyewitness”
So, you were not an eyewitness but you know she was speeding? Clairvoyant?
We passed the scene right after it happened. The emergency staff had not even gotten there yet. there was a highway patrol at the scene.
There was about 20 vehicles that had pulled over. So there were many witnesses. My condolences to the family of this young girl.
I see like probably many of you where drivers are going too fast and playing on their personal devices which causes distracted drivers. Wear your sealt belts.
Wear your seatbelt. Ejections happen when you don’t!
@Bob….That’s called premature ejection.
Can I just say how truly sad this is 😭 I would also like to say that I didn’t see anywhere in here where it said she wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, did I miss that?! I just always thought you could be ejected even if you were wearing a seatbelt. I have a friend that was killed in an accident and ejected and they proved that she was wearing a seatbelt.
There are exceptions, but odds are, if she was ejected she wasn’t wearing one. There was another article/report which stated she was not wearing her seatbelt.
Very Very Rarely Sara.
I drive on highway 4 going westbound to work everyday and then I come home on the eastbound direction. The stuff that I see is literally insane. This is no surprise. Well, one less dangerous driver on the road.
I pretty much hate driving anywhere anymore because our streets have become something out of a Mad Max movie. Folks driving way too fast, texting, distracted, no head checks, last minute abrupt lane changes (love the last-minute fast lane to off-ramp maneuver), etc… With Becton at the helm, our laws are suggestions, at best.
And everyone blamed it on Corona-Mania!
May she rest in peace.
@Sara – Ejections are quite likely if you are not wearing a seat-belt if your vehicle rolls over. Ejections when wearing a seat-belt are highly unusual to the point that it’s newsworthy when it happens. If this victim was wearing a seat-belt then her vehicle likely will get examined carefully to see what in the seat-belt mechanism failed. A 2014 model year vehicle should be very safe. You can see the side-impact airbags deployed for example.
It also helps to lock your doors when driving as a locked door is less likely to fly open during a rollover.
@ WC
“It also helps to lock your doors when driving as a locked door is less likely to fly open during a rollover.”
True. But it’s also a lot harder for responders to get to the victim.
May God bless and help her family and friends during this difficult time. Such a tragedy. May God embrace her. Rest in paradise dear girl.
Extremely Sad,
Individuals are driving way to fast on HWY 4,
On the freeway 80, on Ignacio, on Kirkerpass,
Is terrifying.
I transport children and they don’t care the usually have a car with no plates, the smell of Marijuana, beat up car 🤷♀️
If you are referring to the road in Walnut Creek, it’s Ygnacio.
I drive this stretch a lot and you would think by now that the Mad Max’s of the world would slow down. But those are the folks who are to busy playing on their phones while driving or sadly is seems trying to evade law enforcement for whatever reason.
You make your own choices and sadly live or die by them. i feel sorry for the responders that have to deal with these types of situations all to often. It takes a great deal out of them. We owe them a lot and they should be respected for what they see and have to deal with.
Anyone think maybe she had old tires? Maybe front passenger tire blew went off road. Maybe it wasn’t speed. Lets wait to hear from the pros. Sad part regardless was not wearing a seat belt.
It’s all conjecture at this point. Let’s take a look at the common causes of solo-vehicle crash fatalities:
1. Driving under the influence
2. Excessive speed for roadway conditions
3. Medical issue while operating motor vehicle
4. Inattentiveness/distraction/asleep at the wheel
5. Mechanical issue with vehicle
6. Climate change
… it’s #6 for sure.