Around 5 a.m. on Saturday, December 2, 2017, a box truck struck a line of vehicles, and eventually a toll booth on the Oakland side of the Bay Bridge, according to California Highway Patrol officials.
#BREAKING: Box truck driver arrested on suspicion of DUI and vehicular manslaughter after ramming into Bay Bridge toll booth and killing 46-year-old Caltrans employee, @CHPSanFrancisco says. https://t.co/SripO4IcEu pic.twitter.com/L4WBD9JkAR
— NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) December 2, 2017
Caltrans Worker Killed In Toll Booth Crash
The crash killed the worker inside of Toll Booth 14 and the toll booth was completely crushed. The worker, Si Si Han, a 46-year-old wife and mother, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.
The driver of the box truck, Daniel Berk, 32, of Foster City, allegedly was thrown from the truck and seriously injured. Early Monday morning, Berk remained in the hospital but had been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and manslaughter, according to CBS San Francisco.
A #toll booth worker was killed and another person badly injured when a westbound box truck smashed into a toll booth on the Oakland side of the #BayBridge early this morning. https://t.co/jlpnvZ9Rh3
— ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) December 2, 2017
Following the accident, northbound lanes of Highway 880 and westbound Highway 80 were closed for hours. Further, the bus and HOV lanes were closed because of the wreckage that remained in the road.
Caltrans crews worked overnight to repair the booths damaged in the crash and clear the roadways. Caltrans officials issued a warning to commuters to avoid traveling the direction of the crash.
“We are already at capacity in terms of the number of trains through the trans-bay tube at peak rush hour,” said BART spokesman Jim Allison. “It’s why we need to modernize our train control system.”
Thankfully for commuters, 3 of the 4 toll booths were reopened by 5 a.m. Other injuries in this accident were not reported.
Heavy hearts at caltrans/bay bridge toll plaza after beloved coworker killed in booth Sat. by accused DUI driver. pic.twitter.com/o1zgBCddHo
— Will Tran (@KRON4WTran) December 4, 2017