A Department of Transportation employee died in San Jose on Tuesday after a box truck struck a crane truck while the worker was repairing a streetlight, according to police.
The collision occurred around 10:30 a.m. under an overpass at Hillsdale Avenue near Guadalupe Parkway. The crane truck operator was inside the bucket performing streetlight maintenance when the box truck struck the crane truck, causing the worker to fall.
The worker was transported to a hospital, where they later died. The city confirmed the victim was a city Department of Transportation employee, though the worker’s name has not been released.
The box truck driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators. The San Jose Police Department is investigating the incident as a traffic fatality.
The death underscores the hazards faced by workers in transportation-related occupations. According to 2026 workplace safety data, transportation incidents account for 38.2 percent of all reported occupational fatalities, making them the leading category of fatal workplace events. Additionally, large truck accidents have increased 30 percent over the past decade, according to the National Safety Council.
This incident marks another traffic fatality in San Jose, where the city recorded 26 fatal collisions and 26 traffic-related deaths as of early August 2026. The San Jose Police Department continues to investigate the circumstances of the collision. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the department.
Truck accidents can result in serious legal consequences for drivers and companies involved. A truck accident lawyer recently won a $604 million verdict against freight broker C.H. Robinson in a 2021 Mississippi collision that killed three people, highlighting the significant liability exposure in the trucking industry.
Sources
- ABC7 News — incident details, victim employment status, collision location and time, witness information
- San Jose Police Department — traffic fatality statistics and investigation confirmation
- National Safety Council — large truck accident trend data
- 2026 Workplace Safety Statistics — occupational fatality breakdown by incident type
