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The Mountain View Police Department has confirmed that Brian Drocco, a Sunnyvale resident, was the man who died in a fiery car crash in the early hours of Friday, Feb. 24.

The coroner’s report, which will identify the cause of death and contain a toxicology report, won’t be available for a few weeks, according to Liz Wylie, a spokeswoman for the department. Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the crash.

A Facebook page, created in his memory, describes the 25-year-old as an “amazing individual many of us were lucky to know.” Drocco was born in Cupertino. He would have turned 26 on March 18.

He died in the accident, which occurred shortly before 12:52 a.m. last Friday, just off of Central Expressway near Bernardo Avenue.

Mountain View and Sunnyvale police found Drocco’s body in the wreckage of what appeared to be a 2007 BMW. The car was discovered in flames off to the side of Central Expressway, and police said it had hit a tree.

Pictures of Drocco, postings from friends, family and coworkers, and information on his funeral can be found on the memorial Facebook page.

Investigators believe the car was heading eastbound on Central Expressway, when it ran off the road, hit the tree and caught fire, according to Liz Wylie, a public information officer for the Mountain View Police Department.

The body was so badly burned that investigators could not immediately identify the sex of the driver, said Wylie. “They said it was pretty horrific.”

An autopsy is scheduled for today, Feb. 29.

Multiple passersby reported the flaming car to police, she said. Sunnyvale officers were the first to respond, but determined the accident was within the MVPD’s jurisdiction.

There were no witnesses to the accident, Wylie said, but “it doesn’t appear that there was another car involved.” Police believe that the driver was alone in the car.

Wylie said police will release more information about the crash when it becomes available.

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15 Comments

  1. WoW!! I passed by the accident this morning around 2:30 am. It was really bad. You couldn’t tell it was a car. Didn’t look like anyone could survive the accident.

  4. When I saw the car early that morning it was impossible to tell what it was. I was 1000% sure nobody could have made it in that kind of a crash. What was left from the crash did not even look enough to make a car as if it simply disintegrated when it kit the tree. I am sorry for the driver anyhow this could have only happened at great speeds so the unfortunate driver must have put himself/herself in harm’s way. If this is confirmed, then this event should be used to show people what happens when you make such choices (I’m not saying the victim did in this case) hopefully preventing others.

  5. The driver was a good friend of mine. He bought the car less than a year ago…He lived about 5 minutes from the crash site.

    rest in peace buddy…

  6. He was an incredibly close friend. Miss him terribly. Can’t eat, can’t sleep.

    Wishing it was a bad dream..

    I am left with only the memories… of concerts, trips, kisses…laughter.

  7. God I wish I did not find this article.

    I can’t stop crying. You will always be one of my “boys”. My heart goes out to his family and friends. You were one of the special people and will be missed by all who knew you.

  8. As much as some of us have been waiting for a news article, a sort of confirmation that this terrible accident actually happened, this article is rather crass. I wish the reporter would remember that Drocco was a dear friend to a lot of people who are still rather young, most of us having graduated from local schools. This wasn’t just a car accident – this was a tragedy.

  9. Tragic yes, but a crass article? If you saw the remains of the car, you would come to the conclusion that high speed was involved. Throw in the 1AM time frame and just maybe there is a bitter lesson here for all the young people recently graduated from local schools.

  10. Close friends and family knew several days ago, so this article shouldn’t be news to anyone close to him. It is nothing short of a tragedy for us. He was an amazing friend who may be lost, but will never be forgotten.

    The article isn’t crass, the writer merely reported what was known by the authorities. I don’t really agree with publishing the highly personal Facebook community. I feel it is a place for friends and family – not the internet as a whole.

    Lastly, there is no evidence he was driving excessive speed. The car was a BMW Z4 – a car which by all means is made of carbon fiber and plastic. Combined with the speed limit of 50 on Central – is more than enough to cause catastrophic damage.

    We cannot say what happened that night, and likely will never know. Maybe there was a person, or an animal in the road that ran off. Maybe his tire blew out, or maybe another driver ran him off the road and has not come forward. I do find it disrespectful to make assumptions and to try to ‘make an example’ of him.

    When the reports come out, we may know more…but for now, I am devastated by this loss

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