Two killed after Lexus overturns across I-280 median in Los Altos

How did a car crossing the median of Interstate 280 lead to two drivers dying in separate vehicles? Investigators have traced the sequence: an overturning Lexus struck one vehicle, while a tire that broke away killed the driver of another. What they have not established is why the Lexus left its northbound path in the first place. ³

The five-vehicle collision happened shortly after 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 22, 2026, near Foothill Expressway in Los Altos. The Lexus driver and the driver of a southbound Toyota sedan died at the scene. A Kia SUV driver was hospitalized with minor injuries; the drivers of two other SUVs were uninjured, according to California Highway Patrol accounts reported by SFGATE and the San Francisco Chronicle. ^{1 2 3}

The detailed reconstruction is more specific than the initial description of a northbound driver crossing into opposing traffic and striking four vehicles. CHP said the Lexus sedan traveled up a dirt embankment, struck the center concrete median and overturned into the southbound lanes. There, it collided with a Kia SUV traveling in the second lane, SFGATE reported, citing a CHP news release issued Friday. ²

The Lexus driver was ejected and landed on the roadway. Fire personnel pronounced the driver dead at the scene, according to the Chronicle’s account of CHP’s findings. The Kia driver survived and was taken to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center with minor injuries, SFGATE reported. ^{2 3}

The second death came through a different part of the collision. CHP said the Lexus’s right front tire detached and struck the driver of a Toyota sedan traveling southbound. That driver also died on the freeway. The fatality was not attributed to the Lexus directly colliding with the Toyota sedan. ³

A Tesla SUV and a Toyota SUV traveling ahead of the Kia were damaged by debris from the Lexus. Their drivers were not injured, CHP spokesperson Sophie Lu confirmed to SFGATE. The distinction matters: five vehicles were involved, but the reported sequence separates the Lexus-Kia impact, the detached tire striking the Toyota sedan’s driver and debris damaging the other two SUVs. ^{2 3}

Lu said all five drivers were adults and each was traveling alone. By Friday afternoon, October 23, the Santa Clara County Office of the Medical Examiner-Coroner had not publicly identified the two people who died, the office told SFGATE. No later identification is established in the available reporting. ²

The aftermath left emergency crews working among overturned and severely damaged vehicles, tow trucks and scattered debris. Footage published by ABC7 showed a car resting on its side with a crushed roof and hood. All southbound lanes were closed, and traffic was diverted to Magdalena Avenue while responders worked and investigators examined the scene. ^{1 2}

Southbound traffic resumed Thursday night after a closure lasting roughly four hours or more. The reports differ on the reopening time: ABC7’s October 23 account put it around 9:30 p.m.; the San Francisco Chronicle’s account, published that evening, gave approximately 9:11 p.m. Neither estimate should be treated as a conclusively established minute when every lane physically opened. ^{1 2 3}

A secondary reproduction of CHP dispatch entries offers a narrower distinction. LiveTrafik records cancellation of the SigAlert at 9:11 p.m., followed at 9:12 p.m. by authorization to release the closure. Canceling an alert and permitting officers to remove a closure are separate steps; those entries do not pinpoint when the last lane became available to traffic. The practical point is settled, however: this was a Thursday-night closure, not an ongoing shutdown. ¹²

The Chronicle reported rainy, overcast conditions across the Bay Area that Thursday, with slick roads and reduced visibility. But regional weather is context, not a finding about this collision. Investigators had not established that rain caused the Lexus to leave its path. ³

CHP also had not determined whether alcohol or drugs were involved. Describing the Lexus as crossing into opposing traffic explains its movement, not the reason for it. The available account does not establish deliberate wrong-way driving or a motive. ^{2 3}

As of the latest reports on October 23, the investigation remained active. CHP asked anyone with information about the collision to call 650-779-2700. The reconstruction explains how two drivers died through different parts of the same crash; the unanswered question is what started that sequence on the northbound side of the freeway. ^{2 3}