CHP officers responded to the scene at 1:16 a.m. after reports that a pedestrian had entered the freeway and got hit.
San Jose, CA. – A woman was struck and killed early Friday morning while crossing northbound Highway 101 near San Antonio Street, according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP officers responded to the scene at 1:16 a.m. after reports that a pedestrian had entered the freeway and got hit.
Investigators said a 2017 Infiniti driven by a 24-year-old San Jose man was traveling northbound when the woman stepped into the roadway. The driver attempted to avoid her but was unable to, and she was hit.
The pedestrian died at the scene. Her name has not yet been released pending notification of her family.
CHP said the driver remained at the location and fully cooperated with investigators. Impairment was not determined to be a factor.
The investigation remains ongoing.
San Jose has faced a persistent challenge with traffic safety, historically experiencing a high number of collisions and fatalities. The city recorded its deadliest year of traffic deaths in recent history in 2022, with 65 people killed in collisions. This figure represented a significant increase from previous years, which had already seen rising trends; for instance, deaths more than doubled from 29 in 2010 to 60 in 2021. In the most recent full year of data, the number of fatalities saw a slight decrease to 49 in 2023. However, the start of 2024 indicated an ongoing issue, with 13 traffic deaths reported just four months into the year. A disproportionate number of these incidents involve vulnerable road users, as San Jose historically has a high percentage of auto-pedestrian fatal collisions, with 32 pedestrian-related deaths in 2022 alone. Common causes for crashes include distracted driving, speeding, impaired driving, and heavy traffic congestion on major roadways like Highway 101, Interstate 880, and city streets such as Monterey Road and Almaden Expressway. In response to this safety crisis, the city adopted a Vision Zero initiative in 2015, aiming to eliminate traffic deaths through engineering, education, and enforcement efforts, including installing speed safety cameras and red-light cameras in high-crash areas.
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