2 killed on I-680 - driver dies on I-780 - San Francisco Chronicle

Two people were killed in a fiery crash that involved two cars and two Caltrans vehicles doing roadwork on Interstate 680 early Sunday morning.

The crash happened on the southbound side, where Caltrans had set up cones to narrow passage to the fast lane, south of Crow Canyon Road, in San Ramon, said Sgt. Diana McDermott, a California Highway Patrol spokeswoman.

At 1:22 a.m. a Nissan Maxima traveling in the one open lane rear-ended a BMW Z3 roadster, causing both vehicles to spin out of control and cross into the three lanes that had been closed off. The Nissan hit a forklift and burst into flames, trapping the driver within. The BMW hit a pickup truck, killing a male passenger. The female driver of the BMW suffered life-threatening injuries and was transported to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek.

The Caltrans vehicles were parked and unoccupied at time of the crash, and no Caltrans workers were injured. The driver of the Nissan was burned beyond recognition. The passenger in the BMW was not identified pending notification of kin.

In another highway fatality Sunday morning, a driver was killed in a single-car crash on Interstate 780 in Benicia. Motorists in the westbound lanes reported a Saab convertible moving at speeds in excess of 100 mph at around 7 a.m.

The speeding car hit a freeway sign off the roadway at the Military West exit. The driver, described as a female in her 20s who lived in Vallejo, was not wearing a seat belt. She was ejected and pronounced dead at the scene, McDermott said.

Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: swhiting@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @samwhitingsf