San Jose: Driver ditches car after crash that kills passenger

SAN JOSE — A Central Valley woman died in a single-car crash in North San Jose on Saturday, and police say they are seeking the man who was driving the vehicle and ran off afterward.

Officers were called at 5:41 p.m. to Piedmont and Sierra roads to the scene of a collision in which a white 2006 BMW sedan heading north on Piedmont veered right and went off the roadway, then hit a light pole and a tree.

A San Jose police investigation determined that the male adult driver “fled from the scene.” His passenger was seriously injured and died at a hospital, police said.

She has been identified as Rosa Magaly Zapata, a 30-year-old Turlock resident, according to the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office.

Police said there is no indication that weather played a role in the crash; precipitation reports show that only a light rain was falling in the area at the time. The driver, for whom a description has not been released, is being sought by authorities.

The fatal crash marked the seventh traffic death of 2024 in San Jose.

Anyone with information about the Saturday collision can contact SJPD Traffic Detective Ryan Leslie at 408-277-4654 or by email at 4264@sanjoseca.gov. Tips can be left with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or at siliconvalleycrimestoppers.org.