Woman dies in car crash on Thanksgiving Day outside Livermore
A Fremont woman died on Thanksgiving afternoon after the car she was a passenger in tried to pass slower vehicles but crashed head-on into an oncoming sedan in unincorporated Livermore, according to authorities.
The victim was 30-year-old Sreeja Nagirimadugu, according to the Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau.
Loved ones said Nagirimadugu had moved to the United States just over a month ago to join her husband who was already here working — he was seriously injured in the crash too and remains hospitalized, according to the GoFundMe page created to support the family.
“Sreeja was an exemplary individual known for her hard work, responsibility, love for her family and passion to explore the world. Sreeja worked in India for over 8 years before moving to the USA last month to start married life here in USA,” Praveen Kasireddy wrote on the GoFundMe page.
“Her death is a tragic loss to her family, friends, colleagues, and anyone who has met her or known her. She has left family and friends in great sorrow,” Kasireddy added.
The circumstances of the collision, which also injured two other people in the other vehicle, remain under investigation by the California Highway Patrol’s Dublin office.
The situation occurred at about 12:45 p.m. Nov. 24 on Altamont Pass Road in unincorporated Livermore, about three quarters of a mile east of the Greenville Road intersection, according to the CHP.
Nagirimadugu was the lone passenger in a Honda Civic traveling eastbound at 40 to 50 mph when it came upon slower-moving traffic and the driver opted to cross the solid double-yellow lines in an attempt to pass, according to the CHP. But while traveling in the opposite direction in the westbound lane, the Civic collided head-on with an oncoming Toyota Prius driving about 40 to 50 mph in its correct lane.
Nagirimadugu died in the crash while the Civic’s driver sustained serious injuries.
The CHP did not confirm the name of the driver, but the GoFundMe page identified Nagirimadugu’s husband Revanth as the other occupant. He remained hospitalized and is “making slow progress in recovery,” according to the GoFundMe. The couple had wed earlier this year.
The driver and 13-year-old passenger in the Prius sustained minor to moderate injuries and were taken to area hospitals for treatment, according to the CHP.
The crash remains under investigation. The CHP said officers do not think alcohol was a factor. Anyone who may have witnessed the collision can contact CHP-Dublin at 925-828-0466.
The GoFundMe drive had raised nearly $40,000 as of Tuesday morning to support Nagirimadugu’s family, including for costs associated with transferring her remains to India.
In other news
* Cities, counties, school districts and law enforcement agencies across the state, including the Pleasanton Police Department, will soon receive their share of millions of dollars in state funding to crack down on the illegal sale of tobacco to minors, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced last week.The California Department of Justice’s Tobacco Grant Program — funded by a state tobacco tax — is distributing $18.6 million to 41 local government programs to inform, investigate and penalize tobacco retailers who sell products to youth under the age of 21.
Since 2017, the program has handed out $170 million in grants to governments via a competitive application process.
The grant program hopes to not only curb retailers disregarding federal tobacco laws, but to ultimately mitigate the next generation from being addicted to tobacco.
“Every day, thousands of young Californians will smoke their first cigarette,” Bonta said. “Tobacco manufacturers and retailers bear much of the blame, often directly encouraging the growing underage market for their products. The California Department of Justice’s Tobacco Grant Program provides critical funds to prevent these illegal sales and reduce youth tobacco use in our communities.”
According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, an advocacy organization made up of public health officials, tobacco use is the number one preventable killer in the United States, and it is responsible for more deaths than alcohol, car accidents, murder, suicides, illegal drugs and AIDS combined. And in California, over 400,000 children are estimated to die prematurely from smoking.
The grant program will support recipients in instructing local tobacco retailers on federal laws, ensuring their licensing is in compliance and prosecute those who sell tobacco products to young people, including on the internet.
In the Bay Area, the recipients include the health services departments of Sonoma and Contra Costa counties, Fremont High School in Santa Clara County, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, and the police departments of Piedmont, Pleasanton, San Pablo and Calistoga.
* The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office recently announced felony and misdemeanor charges filed against an unlicensed contractor for allegedly defrauding multiple victims in the county.
Modesto resident Adan Contreras Rivas, 41, is being held on $600,000 bail in the Martinez Detention Facility on 38 charges, including those for financial elder abuse, theft by false pretense, theft with specified priors, and violations related to his fraudulent contracting practices.
Authorities have investigated Rivas since June, when initial accusations were reported by a Walnut Creek resident. Rivas was arrested in Morgan Hill on Nov. 8, when he was operating under the name “Gutierrez Tree Services”.
He has also used other business names like “New View Tree Care”. Prosecutors said in a statement that Rivas allegedly posed as a licensed contractor in the landscaping and paver industry and took thousands of dollars from unsuspecting consumers.
According to the DA’s office, his alleged victims fit a particular profile: often elderly and residing in affluent neighborhoods in Walnut Creek and Concord. Investigators believe there are more victims around Contra Costa County, as well as the South Bay and the Central Valley.
Prosecutors said unlicensed contractors pose a threat to consumers by failing to acquire skills and licensure when hired to perform home improvement or construction projects. Some unlicensed contractors illegally require excessive down payments for construction or landscaping projects, and frequently fail to begin or complete projects once they receive money.
Consumers are often unaware unlicensed contractors don’t have completed background checks and usually don’t carry workers’ compensation insurance for their employees — which increases liability risks to consumers.
California law requires contractors to be licensed and possess workers’ compensation insurance for employees. Licensed contractors are only allowed to request a down payment of $1,000 or 10% of the contract (whichever is less).
For more information on how to verify a contractor’s license, people can go to cslb.ca.gov.
* The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office says it has been “inundated” with requests for concealed carry weapon permits since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that struck down New York state’s restrictions requiring applicants to give a compelling need to carry a concealed weapon in public.
The sheriff’s office said in a statement last month that the ruling in the case New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen means California’s similar restrictions requiring concealed carry weapon permit applicants to demonstrate “good cause” were unconstitutional.
New staff positions recently approved by the county Board of Supervisors will be filled by people to help with more than 1,000 permit requests since July, sheriff’s officials said.
Before the ruling, the sheriff’s office received about 20 permit applications a month.
Obtaining a concealed weapon permit is a multi-step process requiring a detailed application, California Department of Justice fingerprints, background check, interview, and a training class. There’s also a $160 fee, due after applicants complete the training. The sheriff’s office already handles renewals for about 500 current concealed weapon permit holders.
—Tony Hicks, BCN Foundation
