Yesterday, we had our fantasy football draft up north by the SFO airport, so afterwards we were heading home south on highway 101. Everything is going smoothly, when all of the sudden the people in front of me start to brake fairly hard, and my friend who is the passenger seat says something like “Whoa!!” On the opposite side of the highway we see that a SUV has flipped over and there are people running. Sure enough, there in the middle of the road, about 30 feet in front of the flipped SUV, is a person lying lifeless with another younger man screaming while looking at the body. We went by at about 50-60mph, so there wasn’t a lot of time to see much, but you could definitely tell the person was in serious condition, if not already dead. This morning, after doing a little research, I came across the article below explaining what had happened. Apparantely, the SUV only had a flat tire, and was trying to move to the side of the road when the car flipped over, flinging the passenger in the backseat out of the car. Of course, she was the only one of three in the car hurt, and eventually killed, as she was the only one not wearing a seatbelt. So, for all of you who think “I’m a safe driver and won’t get in an accident, and therefore don’t need to wear a seatbelt,” well this is your wake up call! This person died, not because of a car wreck caused by negligence or some fluke, but simply b/c a tire went flat, and she wasn’t wearing her seatbelt.

Woman dies after being thrown from SUV in Peninsula crash

By Kimra McPherson
Mercury News

A woman was killed Sunday when the vehicle she was riding in overturned on Highway 101 in San Carlos, ejecting her onto the freeway.

The woman, whose name has not been released, was sitting in the back seat of a white Ford Explorer when the sport-utility vehicle’s left rear tire went flat at about 5:45 p.m. Sunday, the California Highway Patrol reported. The driver, a 21-year-old South San Francisco man, started to steer the Explorer onto the right shoulder just south of Holly Street, but the SUV flipped over and landed on its roof. The woman, who apparently was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the Explorer, the CHP reported.

The driver and two other passengers were taken to Stanford Hospital with minor injuries.

The Explorer was traveling at the speed limit at the time of the crash, according to the CHP.

Traffic along Highway 101 was backed up for miles while emergency crews worked at the scene.

Anyone with information on the crash is asked to call the CHP office in Redwood City at (650) 369-6261.