A fiery single-vehicle crash sent two people to the hospital with serious burns and shuttered the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge for nearly an hour Sunday.
An older model white Honda Accord was traveling west on the span when it crashed, according to the California Highway Patrol. The vehicle was fully engulfed in flames around 12:55 p.m., CHP Officer Art Montiel said.
The crash occurred roughly five miles from the toll plaza near the Redwood City side of the bridge.
The driver of the vehicle, described as a 20-year-old female from Hayward, and the passenger, described a 20-year-old male from Belmont, both suffered burns from the flames.
Montiel did not know the extent of the victims’ injuries, but said the female driver was transported by helicopter to Valley Medical Center in San Jose and the male passenger was transported by ambulance to Stanford Medical Center.
“They had major injuries,”Montiel said. “They were conscious, but they both had burns.”
There were early reports of both victims rolling on the roadway to extinguish the flames on their bodies. Montiel, though, said the female driver may have been trapped in the vehicle when CHP and fire units arrived.
The bridge was closed to westbound traffic from the time of the crash until 2 p.m. Traffic was diverted on the Hayward side of the bridge to the Dumbarton Bridge nine miles south.
Two lanes for traffic heading east on the bridge were also closed while fire officials helped extinguish the blaze, Montiel said.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, Montiel said.
