The victim of last week’s fatal collision in Los Altos caused the car crash by running a red light, according to the Los Altos Police Department.
Redwood City resident Juana Sanchez-Cabrera, 50, died from injuries she sustained after a Toyota Sienna minivan T-boned her Nissan Sentra in the intersection of Foothill Expressway and Edith Avenue July 21.
The driver of the minivan, a San Jose woman who suffered minor injuries and was able to walk from the scene, is not at fault, said Sgt. Liz Checke, the investigating officer.
“She was fully cooperative with the investigation,” Checke said.
The accident occurred at approximately 7:10 a.m. as the minivan driver traveled westbound on Foothill Expressway toward Palo Alto, according to the police department. Sanchez-Cabrera, driving westbound on Edith toward Los Altos Hills, ran the red light as she attempted to cross Foothill, police said.
Passersby who encountered the accident scene asked whether police officers had relocated the two vehicles out of the intersection, but it was the violent impact that pushed Sanchez-Cabrera’s car up onto a Lincoln Park curb near the University Avenue road sign.
Emergency workers pronounced Sanchez-Cabrera deceased at 8:03 a.m., according to the police department.
The Foothill-Edith intersection, a major Los Altos artery, was partially closed until approximately 1 p.m. that day as officers gathered evidence; commuter traffic was temporarily redirected around Lincoln Park or onto Los Altos Avenue.
Speed, alcohol, drugs or a distraction like texting are not considered factors in the crash, but a toxicology report from the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner is pending, Checke said.
“There’s no reason to believe there’s any other factors involved in it,” she said.
Sanchez-Cabrera was a beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, according to a family member’s Facebook post promoting a GoFundMe.com page established to honor Sanchez-Cabrera and pay for her memorial.
“Juana was a beautiful human being loved by everyone,” according to the page. “Unfortunately, due to a tragic accident she lost her life. We will all miss her and she will forever live in our hearts.”
Contribute to the fund by visiting gofundme.com/in-memory-of-juana-sanchezcabrera.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call Checke at 947-2770 and reference case No. 17-0805.
