Three killed after getting out of their cars to inspect collision on highway

Three people died and several others were injured after a chain reaction vehicle crash in California on Monday morning.

According to the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the crash took place on Highway 101 in Sunnyvale.

CHP sergeant Gil Ontiveras told CBS News that 911 calls started coming in at around 12.28am, reporting that a red Ford pickup truck had slammed into a divider between the Fair Oaks and Lawrence Freeway exits.

Officers upon arrival found not only the truck, but five other vehicles that had collided while trying to avoid the crash scene.

Investigations revealed that the drivers of three initial vehicles that had crashed, got out and stood in close proximity at the centre divider, when another vehicle crashed into the scene.

“They stopped in their lanes, got out of their vehicles to assess damage and check on others and were struck,” CHP spokesperson Ross Lee was quoted as saying.

The drivers sustained fatal injuries.

The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner’s Office said two of the deceased were identified as Tyler Tolentino Rasay, 28, of South San Francisco and Paul August Dennig Jr, 24.

CHP officials said two of them were thrown over the centre divider wall and onto the lanes of US-101 southbound, and the third remained on the northbound side.

The name of the third person who was killed has not been released by authorities yet.

Three others are receiving treatment at a hospital, authorities said.

Authorities said the crash is being investigated and officers are working to recreate the sequence of events.

They said it is not yet known whether alcohol or drug impairment played a role in the chain reaction vehicle crash, reported CBS.

All northbound and southbound lanes were shut down as the crash site was cleared and investigations were conducted.

The roads were later reopened.