Two people were critically injured when they were ejected from a vehicle in a suspected drunk driving crash on Interstate Highway 680 in San Jose on Sunday night, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A 1999 Ford Mustang was traveling north on Highway 680 north of Capitol Expressway shortly before 10:15 p.m. when its driver tried to pass a 2005 Toyota Camry by driving on the center median, CHP officials said.
The Ford hit the left side of the Toyota, causing the Ford driver to lose control of the vehicle, which slid on its side to the right shoulder then overturned while descending down a dirt embankment, according to the CHP.
The Ford's driver, a 42-year-old San Jose man, and a 34-year-old male passenger were ejected from the Ford. San Jose firefighters arrived to find the pair as well as a third person, a 38-year-old San Jose man, still in the car, CHP officials said.
All three were taken to hospitals with life-threatening injuries.
The two people in the Toyota, a 70-year-old man and 64-year-old woman from Walnut Creek, were not injured in the crash, according to the CHP.
CHP investigators learned that the Ford had been pursued earlier by San Jose police, who stopped the pursuit when they lost sight of the vehicle prior to the crash.
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Alcohol is considered a contributing factor in the collision, which shut down lanes of northbound Highway 680 for about an hour.
Anyone who might have witnessed the collision is asked to contact Officer T. Babcock at (408) 467-5400.
