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A young woman from San Leandro died after the sedan she was a passenger in flipped along Interstate 580 near Dublin in a crash investigators allege was fueled by high speed and alcohol on Valentine’s Day.
The Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau identified the victim as 25-year-old Kenia Hernandez Berber.
A brief obituary online said Hernandez Berber, who was born in Mexico, had been working as a nail artist in the Bay Area. “She is survived by many loving family members and friends, and will be deeply missed,” the obituary read in part.
The solo-vehicle crash occurred around 4:45 a.m. Feb. 14 when a silver Toyota sedan was traveling at a high rate of speed on westbound I-580 just west of the San Ramon Road/Foothill Road exit, according to Officer Tyler Hahn of the California Highway Patrol.
The driver — who has not been publicly identified — allowed the car to drift to the right off the freeway and up a dirt embankment, Hahn said. The car overturned, ejecting passenger Hernandez Berber onto the roadway and causing major injuries.
Hernandez Berber was transported by paramedics to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where she later succumbed to her injuries.
The driver was initially placed under arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, but they have not yet been formally charged as the case is still under investigation, according to Hahn.
The identity of the driver has not been publicly released to date, which is common in CHP crash investigations unless and until any criminal charges are filed.
The sedan stopped on its roof in the No. 1 lane of westbound I-580 that morning. All lanes of the freeway were closed for nearly 1-1/2 hours on Feb. 14 for the CHP investigation and debris cleanup.
