Fatal Pileup Snarls Golden Gate Bridge |
A speeding Mercedes crossed the center divider on the
Golden Gate Bridge yesterday afternoon and caused a
fatal multi-car pileup that partially closed the span for
nearly four hours, the California Highway Patrol said. The
high speed crash caused a chain reaction accident involving
nine other vehicles, turned bridge approaches into a huge
parking lot and clogged miles of San Francisco and Marin
County roadways. In Marin County, Highway 101 was packed with an unbroken
line of cars. In San Francisco, grid locked vehicles stretched
back along Lombard Street to Van Ness Avenue, while side
streets that lead to the span were choked as far back as
Golden Gate Park and the Marina. Commuters quickly
realized they were stranded and shut off their engines. Some
got out of their autos to stretch their legs, while others listened
intently to their car radios, hoping for news of progress in
clearing the roadway. On Crissy Field Avenue, a
muni bus
driver sat resignedly in his No. 29 Sunset bus while his solo
passenger waited outside, smoking a cigarette. The driver,
Terry Mauricio, an 11year veteran of the city transit system,
said he was heading toward the bridge at 4:13 p.m. when he
became snared in the backup.
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By Charles Burress and Bill Wallace |