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A Pleasanton man was arrested for allegedly causing a violent crash while intoxicated and killing a passenger in another vehicle on Crow Canyon Road just inside the San Ramon city limits during the holiday weekend.
The San Ramon Police Department booked Badal Dholaria, 28, into county jail on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and DUI following the two-car collision Saturday afternoon. The name of the victim – a 41-year-old woman from Castro Valley – was not immediately released.
“Our heartfelt condolences go out to those affected by this tragic incident. This remains an active and ongoing investigation,” police said in a statement Sunday morning.
Hayward resident Edwin Beltran told DanvilleSanRamon.com that he was in a car riding back home from the gym in San Ramon when he witnessed the aftermath of the crash. The Tesla Model 3 in question had almost hit them as it sped by their car seemingly in excess of 100 mph, he said.
“It was a horrible experience to witness,” Beltran said.
SRPD officers were called out to Crow Canyon Road on the northwestern edge of the city just before 3:30 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 29) for a serious collision between a Ford Bronco and a Tesla Model 3.
The female passenger in the Bronco succumbed to injuries sustained in the two-car crash while its driver was transported to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, treated and released from the hospital, police said.
The preliminary investigation revealed that the driver of the Tesla Model 3 – later identified as Dholaria – was intoxicated and responsible for causing the deadly collision, according to police. He was arrested at the scene and taken to the Martinez Detention Facility.
An SRPD spokesperson declined to reveal further specifics about the circumstances of the crash – such as directions of travel, the exact location and what other factors may have been at play – citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.
Beltran told DanvilleSanRamon that he was riding in his brother’s car after going to 24 Hour Fitness with their mother and his brother’s girlfriend when the Tesla zoomed past their vehicle and nearly clipped them seconds before the deadly crash.
“A Tesla passed us super fast, shaking my brother’s car,” he recalled. “We all thought we were gonna get hit because if my brother didn’t switch lanes it could have been us who got into the impact; he was super close.”
“He then lost control and gained control back again, speeding up even faster; surely we seen dust all in the air and an electricity pole fall to the ground. And that’s when we knew it had to have been the Tesla,” Beltran said. “But we were in shock to see another car at the scene with the Tesla.”
Beltran said he got out of the car to try to help in the immediate aftermath of the crash. The Bronco’s driver “looked confused and scared. I instantly got goosebumps for him.”
“(She) was still buckled up but her body was in a position where it was affecting her breathing, and to top it off she was dangling down, so I’m sure all her blood was rushing down to her head causing her to blackout cause she was turning purple,” the witness said.
“The driver at fault (Tesla driver) proceeded to try to unbuckle the victim’s wife, but I and everyone stopped him from doing so cause you’re not supposed to touch or move a body that’s been in an accident if they can’t move on their own,” Beltran added. “And of course the driver in fault had no scratches or cuts, just a bruise.”
San Ramon police continue to investigate the circumstances of the crash, encouraging other potential witnesses to come forward and contact detectives at 925-973-2779.
The aftermath of the crash, including the emergency response, police investigation and scene cleanup, closed a long stretch of Crow Canyon Road for hours – from Bollinger Canyon Road in San Ramon to Norris Canyon Road in Castro Valley because of the lack of outlets off Crow Canyon between those two intersections.
