Posted by Someone familiar with the area, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Jan 4, 2008 at 2:09 pm

Yea right, "slick roads" on that steep part of Montevino? Not exactly like the road there is pooled with water. More than likely the driver was distracted and drove up into landscaping or was avoiding one of the numerous speeding vehicles driving downhill.

Posted by I Live Across the Street, a resident of the Vineyard Hills neighborhood, on Jan 4, 2008 at 2:22 pm

The pictures very clearly show the van's right wheel drove up on the landscaping and overturned. The landscaping is between the third and the fourth house up from the intersection going uphill, so it is very unlikely the van was speeding in such a short distance. Pooled water causing loss of control is an impossibility on the street's steep incline. Purposely driving off the street to avoid an oncoming car is always a possibility. Otherwise, it look's like a classic case of driver distraction. Text messaging maybe? Dialing the cell phone? Reading a map?

Posted by Mike, a resident of the Birdland neighborhood, on Jan 6, 2008 at 12:04 am

That driver was most likely text messaging. The ban on phone usage while driving should be swift and as penalized as driving while intoxicated. Was the driver licensed at all and was he given a sobriety test by the police?

M

Posted by Anne, a resident of the Castlewood neighborhood, on Jan 6, 2008 at 6:04 pm

We use Harvey's cleaners. Having done business with Harvey, I am sure that this young man had a license. The most impressive thing about this is that my clothes were in that van and they were recleaned and I still got them delivered to my home by 6:00pm

Posted by Becky Dennis, a resident of the Foxborough Estates neighborhood, on Jan 7, 2008 at 10:06 am

It is unlikely that pooled water caused the loss of control. Drainage works well on our VH streets, which you can see from the water in the street gutter in the first photo. However, the gutters get very slick when draining water covers organic matter that accumulates in them (algae in summer, leaves in fall and winter). I took a couple of falls walking my dogs, and now stay on the sidewalk or in the street, which has a rougher surface.

Posted by Gene, a resident of the Vineyard Hills neighborhood, on Jan 8, 2008 at 5:11 pm

According to the police the van's tires did not have adequate tread. Couple that with the amount of water on the street and the speed of the van is what aused it to hydroplane. I live on the street and can assure you that the water runs down the street in a heavy sheet. I was there at the time of the accident and the water on the street was extremely heavy. There were no other vehicles involved or coming down the street. The driver was not talking or texting on his phone. I saw him climb out if the van within seconds of the accident and he needed to take his phone out of his case to make a call. Everyone needs to know the facts before they jump to false conclusions and accusations.