Mother killed by distracted driving on San Mateo Bridge: CHP

Mother killed by distracted driving on San Mateo Bridge: CHP

A deadly Tuesday afternoon crash on the San Mateo Bridge has been attributed by the California Highway Patrol to distracted driving, in a tragic situation that killed a 54-year-old mother who had fled Venezuela for a better life in the Bay Area. 

SAN MATEO, Calif. – A deadly Tuesday afternoon crash on the San Mateo Bridge has been attributed by the California Highway Patrol to distracted driving, in a tragic situation that killed a 54-year-old mother who had fled Venezuela for a better life in the Bay Area. 

What we know:

Her daughter identified her as Mary Esther Hurtado Durán. 

“It’s just tragic honestly,” her daughter Mariellis Lopez, 26, said in a Zoom interview Thursday from Germany, where she is studying to get her master’s degree in materials engineering. “She was a very amazing person.”

CHP investigators said the crash, which also seriously injured another person, occurred when the driver of a Ford van “became distracted by his cellular phone and looked away from the road,” a release from CHP states.

The CHP did not identify that driver or say if they were looking into criminal charges. 

The CHP said the preliminary investigation revealed that a Kia sedan had stalled in the middle of the three-lane bridge and was struck by the Ford van at about 2:50 p.m.

“When the (van’s) driver returned his attention to the roadway, he observed the stalled vehicle in front of him. Despite efforts to avoid a crash, the Ford crashed into the stalled Kia,” the CHP release states.

The Kia’s driver was pronounced dead at the scene, while a passenger in the van, which bore Rooter Hero plumbing branding, was hospitalized with major injuries.

CHP on deadly San Mateo Bridge crash

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What you can do:

Lopez did not know much about the accident, or the car her mother was in. 

She said her mother used to work for the Central Bank of Venezuela but left that country in 2018 because of its political and economic troubles.

“The situation of Venezuela was just unbearable,” Lopez said. “We didn’t have anything to eat anymore. It was just unbearable.”

While living in Fremont with her now-15-year-old son, Durán made deliveries for a living. 

She said her mother always told her to focus on her studies and her career. She said she hadn’t seen her mother since they fled their home country, because she was unable to get a visa.

“I was never able to see her again.”

Lopez said they are facing an “immense financial burden” that includes the funeral as well as the travel costs to get her brother back to Venezuela, where she hopes to bring her mother’s ashes. 

“I just know that my brother is in the United States there and I need to get to him because he’s underage,” she said. “And yeah, that’s just a tragic thing that happened that day. I’m here in Germany and I woke up to a million calls. It’s just the situation right now. We need help.”
 

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