One woman is dead after the driver of the car she was riding in fled a traffic stop, struck another car and hit a pole in San Jose early Sunday, police said.
The driver, a man, was fleeing an enforcement stop around 12:19 a.m., ran a red light and hit another car at the intersection of Naglee and Park avenues, according to the San Jose Police Department. The impact caused the first car, a Buick sedan, to collide with a traffic pole.
The driver was taken into custody by the Santa Clara Police Department, which initially tried to stop him. He sustained major injuries and was taken to a local hospital. His passenger was pronounced dead at the scene. Her identity will be released by the Santa Clara County Office of the Medical Examiner.
The driver and passenger in the second car, a Toyota sedan, were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
The incident marks the city’s 21st fatal collision and 21st traffic-related death of 2026.
Anyone with information about the crash can contact Detective Tori DelliCarpini of the San Jose Police Department’s Traffic Investigations Unit at 4103@sanjoseca.gov or 408-277-4654.