The woman who died after a head-on collision on Oregon Expressway in Palo Alto on Thursday morning was identified today as a 65-year-old Merced County resident, according to the Santa Clara County medical examiner’s office.
Leslie Loeser of Livingston was the passenger in a silver 2018 Kia Optima driven by her husband, according to Palo Alto police.
Loeser’s vehicle was exiting southbound Highway 101 to Oregon Expressway when it crossed over the median at 4:42 a.m. and struck a food delivery van, according to police.
The van was in the farthest left-hand lane of eastbound Oregon Expressway. Investigators said that the driver of the van is a man in his 30s.
The impact caused both vehicles to spin out and each one sustained significant damage, according to police.
Loeser was found in critical condition at the scene and was rushed along with her husband and the other driver to Stanford Medical Center, police said. It was there that she succumbed to her injuries.
Loeser’s husband, a Livingston man in his 60s, as well as the truck driver remain in the Stanford hospital. They are both expected to survive, according to officers.
A Palo Alto police sergeant originally said that Loeser was driving the Kia, but the traffic investigations team revealed that she was the passenger.
Police do not believe drugs or alcohol were factors in the collision. Both drivers spoke to investigators at the hospital.
Loeser’s husband was not cited or arrested, police said.
— Bay City News
