A Santa Clara man was killed in a crash on westbound Interstate Highway 80 in El Cerrito on Sunday night when he was ejected from an SUV, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The crash was reported around 8:50 p.m. near the Cutting Boulevard off-ramp at the El Cerrito-Richmond border.
The man was identified by the coroner's office as 47-year-old Martin Gutierrez. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
He had been one of four passengers in a 2000 Ford Explorer driven by a 35-year-old Santa Clara woman, CHP officials said.
Just before the accident, the driver of the westbound Ford swerved left and lost control of the vehicle.
A 37-year-old Fremont woman driving a 2010 Dodge Charger saw the Ford enter her lane and also swerved left, according to the CHP.
The front right side of the Dodge struck the left side of the Ford, which then hit the median and overturned.
Gutierrez was ejected, and the Ford landed on top of him, according to the CHP.
The others in the Ford—the driver, a 39-year-old Santa Clara man and a 42-yar-old San Jose woman—were taken to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Richmond and Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo with minor injuries.
The driver of the Dodge, who was alone in her car, was not injured.
It is unclear if Gutierrez was wearing a seat belt, but all others involved in the accident were buckled up, according to the CHP.
The crash shut down all westbound lanes for about 40 minutes. The roadway was completely cleared by 11:30 p.m., according to the CHP.
Copyright © 2013 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
