SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) — A 25-year-old Sacramento resident died early Thursday morning after her vehicle crashed on Highway 50 and was hit by an SUV.
The California Highway Patrol said around 4:15 a.m., a woman in a 2005 Subaru Outback was driving east on Highway 50 in East Sacramento.
As the Subaru approached the area of the highway over 59th Street, it veered off the road and struck multiple impact attenuators filled with water, the CHP reported. Caltrans explains that the crash cushions that line major highways are designed to make vehicles “[decelerate] by the transfer of inertia in displacing sand or water.”
According to the CHP, the Subaru overturned into the road, and just minutes later, was struck by a Volkswagen SUV.
The 25-year-old driver died at the scene, CHP officials said.
The 56-year-old woman behind the wheel of the SUV was hospitalized with minor injuries.
Investigators said they are still trying to determine why the unidentified Subaru driver left the roadway and they do not know whether drugs or alcohol played a factor.
Eastbound Highway 50 was reduced to one lane due to the crash and traffic came to a crawl. The highway fully reopened just before 8 a.m.