A Saturday-morning parking attempt in San Jose turned deadly when a driver accidentally shifted into reverse at high speed and slammed into a concrete wall, fatally injuring an elderly passenger. The crash occurred shortly after 7 a.m. on April 11, 2026, along North Ninth Street, just north of East Santa Clara Street.
According to San Jose police, the driver of a 2010 Toyota was trying to park when he mistakenly accelerated backward, sending the vehicle off the roadway and into a concrete wall. The impact caused severe injuries to the passenger seated inside the car. Authorities identified the victim as 79-year-old Tuyep Nhung Thi Nguyen of San Jose. She was transported to a nearby hospital with critical injuries but later died despite emergency medical efforts.
Police said the driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators. There is no indication from police that he was arrested or cited. The crash was being treated as an accident, with no immediate indication of impairment or foul play. Investigators documented the vehicle’s path and the point of impact.
The collision marked one of two fatal traffic incidents in San Jose that weekend. The second crash occurred around 9:45 p.m. Saturday at Almaden Expressway and San Jose Avenue, where a pedestrian was struck and killed by a driver who was later arrested on suspicion of DUI. That driver, operating a 2008 Toyota sedan, remained at the scene and showed objective symptoms of alcohol intoxication . The pedestrian was crossing outside of any marked crosswalk at the time.
Nguyen’s death was recorded as San Jose’s 13th traffic fatality of 2026, while the pedestrian death was the 14th. By comparison, the city had recorded eight traffic deaths by the same point in 2025, according to data compiled by The Mercury News. The pedestrian death also marked the city’s sixth pedestrian fatality of the year.
San Jose police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding both crashes, including the vehicle’s mechanical condition and the driver’s actions in the moments before impact. No charges have been announced in the North Ninth Street crash as of the latest update.
Anyone with information about either fatal collision can contact the SJPD traffic investigations unit at 408-277-4654. Tips about the Almaden Expressway incident can be emailed to Detective Ryan Leslie at 4264@sanjoseca.gov; tips about the downtown incident can be directed to Detective Joshua White at 4638@sanjoseca.gov. Information can also be submitted to Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or siliconvalleycrimestoppers.org.