A man in his fifties died Sunday, Aug. 16, after his sedan struck the walls of the Alma Street underpass on Oregon Expressway, according to the Palo Alto Police Department.
Officers responded at approximately 11:49 p.m. after the city's 24-hour dispatch center received a report of a major injury collision. They found the man unconscious inside the sedan. He was extricated from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.
No other vehicles were involved.
Witnesses told police the sedan was traveling westbound on Oregon Expressway when it collided with the underpass walls. The department's Specialized Traffic Accident Reconstruction team, known as STAR, responded to lead the investigation.
Whether drugs or alcohol played a role is unknown, and the cause of the crash remains under investigation. Police have not provided a timeline for when findings will be released.
Oregon Expressway was closed for about six hours while officers worked the scene. The road, part of the Santa Clara County expressway system, connects Interstate 280 to U.S. 101 through Palo Alto.
Police are not releasing the victim's name. That information will come from the Santa Clara County Office of the Medical Examiner-Coroner once the family has been notified.
The crash is the second fatal solo-vehicle collision investigated by the STAR team in less than a year. The unit also responded to a fatal crash on Alma Street at the University Avenue overcrossing in September 2025.
Anyone with information about the Aug. 16 crash can call PAPD's dispatch center at (650) 329-2413, text the keyword PAPD plus a tip to 847411, or submit a tip through the Palo Alto PD Tips app on the App Store or Google Play.
