SAN JOSE — Police are investigating a pair of fatal crashes reported Saturday, with one involving an alleged DUI driver who killed a pedestrian and the other involving a driver who appeared to accidentally back into a wall, killing his elderly passenger.
The most recent incident was reported around 9:45 p.m. when San Jose police officers were called to Almaden Expressway south of San Jose Avenue for a report of a car hitting a pedestrian, according to San Jose police. They arrived and determined that a man driving a southbound 2008 Toyota sedan hit a man crossing the expressway.
Police said the injured man died at the scene; his name was not publicly released pending his formal identification and notification of his next of kin by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office.
The driver stopped at the scene; police said he “displayed objective symptoms of alcohol intoxication,” leading to him being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
A police news release stated that the victim was not in a crosswalk when he was hit; in California, most road crossings outside crosswalks are legal provided they can be done safely.
Earlier in the day, police officers were called to a downtown crash reported around 7:05 a.m. on North Ninth Street just north of East Santa Clara Street. An ensuing investigation found that a man driving a 2010 Toyota was trying to park when he “accidentally put the vehicle into reverse at a high rate of speed,” going off the street and hitting a concrete wall, police said.
A woman riding as a passenger was seriously injured, and later died at a hospital, police said. She was identified by the coroner’s office as Tuyep Nhung Thi Nguyen, a 79-year-old San Jose woman.
The driver remained at the crash site. There was no indication from police that he was arrested or cited.
The deaths marked the city’s 13th and 14th traffic deaths of the year investigated by San Jose police, with the latter marking the city’s sixth pedestrian death. The city had recorded eight traffic deaths by the same point in 2025, according to data compiled by this news organization.
Anyone with information about either fatal collision can contact the SJPD traffic investigations unit at 408-277-4654. Tips about the Almaden Expressway incident can email Detective Ryan Leslie at 4264@sanjoseca.gov; tips about the downtown incident can contact Detective Joshua White 4638@sanjoseca.gov. Information can also be submitted with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or siliconvalleycrimestoppers.org.