A man police say drove into a pole in South Berkeley on Tuesday morning died a short time later from his injuries, authorities report.
Alexis Castaneda Rodriguez of San Pablo was pronounced dead just before 9:45 a.m., the Alameda County coroner’s office told Berkeleyside.
Berkeley Police spokesman Officer Byron White said police responded to Ashby and San Pablo avenues at 9:20 a.m. after the driver, who was southbound on San Pablo, ran into a “signal light/light post.” He was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries, White said.
BPD’s Fatal Accident Investigation Team is handling the case “because of the severity of the collision,” White said. Police have not determined the cause of the crash, he said.
The intersection at San Pablo and Ashby was closed to traffic for two blocks in each direction during the investigation. The roadway had reopened by about 2 p.m., BPD said.
Tuesday’s incident was the second fatal crash in Berkeley in 2020. The first was a hit-and-run in January where a driver allegedly ran over and dragged a woman who was on the sidewalk, killing her.
In 2019, there were five fatal crashes in Berkeley: two involving vehicles only, two involving pedestrians and one that involved a cyclist, according to data released previously by BPD.
