Gilroy
– A Gilroy man died Thursday evening after crashing his pickup
into a big rig driving on U.S. Highway 101 near the Tenth Street
exit.
Gilroy – A Gilroy man died Thursday evening after crashing his pickup into a big rig driving on U.S. Highway 101 near the Tenth Street exit.
Luis Masoni, 80, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, on southbound 101 just north of the exit ramp, at 5:05pm, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Masoni and his wife, Virginia, also 80, were behind the big rig, driven by Justin Amorose, 40, of Daily City, in the third lane from the left. The fourth lane on their right-hand side was a collector lane for the upcoming off-ramp. The commute traffic was stop-and-go at the time, said CHP Officer Matt Ramirez.
“If you’re familiar with that area, it kind of stops up right there where people are trying to exit at Tenth Street to get to Highway 152,” Ramirez said.
Amorose said he was crawling at about 2 mph, given the traffic ahead. The CHP reported that Masoni was approaching the big rig in a 1999 Dodge pickup at an estimated 55 to 60mph. When he saw that the big rig was moving slowly, he attempted to merge right into the exit lane, but did not turn in time.
“He tried to apply the brakes, but at that point, hit the trailer at an angle, so the majority of the energy was on the driver’s side,” Ramirez said.
The force of the crash pinned him between the driver’s seat and the collapsed cab and dash of the pickup.
Virginia Masoni was taken to San Jose Medical Center for treatment of injuries.
Amorose, the driver of the big rig, was uninjured.
