San Jose Traffic Stop Ends in Fatal Buick Crash, 1 Passenger Dead
A passenger died after a traffic stop led to a Buick crash in San Jose early Sunday, adding to the city’s 21st traffic fatality of 2026. Santa Clara police said officers first saw the 2002 Buick sedan driving recklessly around 12:16 a.m. on Stevens Creek Boulevard.
The Buick’s driver kept going through Santa Clara and onto Interstate 880 before the chase reached San Jose’s Rose Garden neighborhood. At Naglee and Park avenues, the car ran a red light, hit a 2016 Toyota sedan and then struck a telephone pole.
San Jose crash at Naglee and Park
San Jose police said a woman riding in the Buick was pronounced dead after the Sunday morning crash. The driver, a man, suffered major injuries and was taken to a hospital while in the custody of San Jose police.
Two women in the Toyota were also taken to hospitals. Their injuries were not considered life-threatening. The collision left three people hurt in addition to the fatality.
Santa Clara pursuit on Stevens Creek
Police said the Buick was first seen on Stevens Creek Boulevard in Santa Clara driving recklessly, including at one point on the wrong side of the road and onto the center median. Officers tried to stop it, but the driver refused and kept going on city streets before entering San Jose.
The sequence matters for anyone following the case because the fatal crash did not begin at the intersection where it ended. It started with a pursuit that crossed city lines, continued onto Interstate 880 and ended only after the Buick ran the red light near the Rosicrucian Museum.
San Jose traffic fatality count
Police said the crash is part of San Jose’s 21st traffic fatality of 2026. The investigation into the crash is ongoing, and the sequence of events already points to a collision involving both the fleeing Buick and the Toyota at a busy San Jose intersection.
For people involved in the crash, the immediate facts are already clear: one passenger died, the driver is hospitalized under police custody, and two women in the Toyota were injured. The case now turns on how police and investigators reconstruct the pursuit, the red-light violation and the impact that followed.
