WALNUT CREEK — A predawn crash that sent a Jeep SRT careening into a tree and bursting into flames on Ygnacio Valley Road left the driver dead and closed a busy stretch of roadway for hours early Sunday morning, police said.
What happened
- 2:14 a.m., Sunday, June 29 – Walnut Creek police received a 911 call about a vehicle on fire near North Broadway. Officers were on-scene within a minute and found the SUV engulfed in flames against a redwood tree in the parking lot of 675 Ygnacio Valley Rd., across from Civic Park and the BART station.
- Contra Costa Fire crews quickly extinguished the blaze and kept it from spreading to nearby buildings, but the driver—who was the car’s only occupant—was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigation & road closure
Detectives spent the early-morning hours mapping the scene and collecting evidence; city crews and investigators were still working past 6 a.m., keeping westbound lanes between North Broadway and Civic Drive shut through sunrise.
Police have not released the driver’s name, pending notification of family members. They say no other vehicles were involved, and factors such as speed or impairment remain under review.
A dangerous stretch
Sunday’s tragedy is the second deadly single-car collision on Ygnacio Valley Road since April. Two months ago, a Tesla slammed into a tree a few blocks west of this weekend’s crash, also killing the sole occupant…