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A collision involving three vehicles at Moffett Boulevard and Central Expressway Monday morning shut down lanes and left two people with severe injuries, according to the Mountain View Police Department.
The collision occurred at 8:58 a.m. on March 6, bringing traffic to a standstill with lane closures at the busy intersection. Two vehicle occupants were transported to a local hospital for treatment. “Their conditions are not stable at this point and they have several injuries including broken bones,” a police official said.
The Mountain View Police Department Traffic Team is conducting an investigation and information is limited at this time, police said. The collision did not involve pedestrians or bicyclists, and the cause or fault of the collision also has not been determined yet.
The collision led to lane closures, which the Mountain View Police Department plans to reopen by early afternoon. Until then, traffic is being diverted, the police official said.
“Southbound Moffett Boulevard traffic is being diverted onto Westbound Central Avenue. Westbound Central Expressway traffic is being diverted to Northbound Moffett. Eastbound traffic on Central Expressway is open but narrowed down to one lane of travel,” the police official said, adding that it would be best for drivers to avoid the area if possible.
This is a developing story and updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
Did not witness so no idea the nature of this accident but I’ve been witness to many near accidents at this intersection: vehicles turning right on red onto Central from Moffet dramatically underestimate the speed (likely over the speed limit too) of the vehicles on Central. And they often feel this pressure to turn because it’s hard to turn right on green with pedestrians.
We didn’t need an accident to highlight how dangerous this intersection is. The people running MV should have done something long ago, maybe they’ll finally freaking do it.
The city is planning an undercrossing, but it will take a while. I think this is a lucky day. I was there just after (fire trucks and police cars, but the ambulance was still on its way), and by the faces of some people standing nearby, I was certain some pedestrians were killed. If you see where that minivan ended up, that’s exactly where people would wait to cross the street to get to downtown and Caltrain. At 9am, that usually has people there. Mountain View has had a bad history of pedestrians getting hit while on the sidewalk. I guess we’re lucky for once.
> The city is planning an undercrossing, but it will take a while
It’s been 10 years. They dragged it out so long that they had to divert funding for it to the Rengstorff crossing! I’ll be dead and buried when that undercrossing is finished.
Maybe one of the city council people can chime in and explain themselves.
I understand the safety advantages of under crossings, but the flip side is that they become public urinals and reduce safety by making it easier to get mugged. Every time I get off Caltrain in Palo Alto, I thank goodness we don’t have under crossings in Mountain View. A hell of a world: danger from either cars or people, you can’t avoid one or the other at train crossings.
Any update on this?