A man died on Middlefield Road on Saturday morning after an accident that caused the cement truck he was driving to topple onto its side, Palo Alto police said.
The victim, who was identified by the Santa Clara County medical examiner's office as Leonard Lawrence Acosta, a 58-year-old San Jose resident, was the sole occupant of a cement truck that police found tipped over on its side shortly after 5 a.m. on the 4200 block of Middlefield, just south of San Antonio Road. Fire Department personnel pronounced the driver dead at the scene, according to the police.
No other vehicles were involved and no other people injured. Police have not determined if drugs or alcohol or a factor in this accident.
The block of Middlefield was closed to traffic Saturday morning as officers from the Palo Alto Police Department's Specialized Traffic Accident Reconstruction team investigated the cause of the accident. All lanes were re-opened as of 1:30 p.m., police said.
Anyone who witnessed the accident is asked to call the department's dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent by text or voice mail to 650-383-8984.
-Bay City news contributed to this report.
Comments
another community
on Aug 24, 2013 at 12:26 pm
on Aug 24, 2013 at 12:26 pm
I went through this intersection this morning. The accident investigation was going on. It was a devasting scene. I am so very sorry to hear that the driver lost his life. My heartfelt condolences to his loved ones.
Charleston Meadows
on Aug 24, 2013 at 12:42 pm
on Aug 24, 2013 at 12:42 pm
There are plenty of security cameras that should have captured the accident. Valero and Arco gas stations. Toyota dealership. Jiffy lube. Drove by 30 mins after it occured early this morning and it looked pretty bad.
Charleston Meadows
on Aug 24, 2013 at 12:48 pm
on Aug 24, 2013 at 12:48 pm
Looked like the truck was travelling eastbound on San Antonio rd. and lost control when making a right turn on Middlefield. It overturned, skidded, and the cabin came crashing against a tree in front of Jiffy Lube.
Midtown
on Aug 25, 2013 at 10:55 am
on Aug 25, 2013 at 10:55 am
Very unusual for a professional driver to have a solo accident on a low-speed road. Very possible that the driver had a medical incident like a heart attack before the crash.
Crescent Park
on Aug 25, 2013 at 11:08 am
on Aug 25, 2013 at 11:08 am
Isn't Middlefield South of San Antonio Mountain View?
Monroe Park
on Aug 25, 2013 at 11:42 am
on Aug 25, 2013 at 11:42 am
A short distance on Middlefield south of San Antonio is still Palo Alto. The boundary between Mt View and PA moves south across San Antonio around Alma and continues on down on that side of the street.
Crescent Park
on Aug 25, 2013 at 12:00 pm
on Aug 25, 2013 at 12:00 pm
That's right, I know the border of Palo Alto and Mountain View jogs around a little bit around there, like those condos/townhouses on the South side of San Antonio belong to Palo Alto, but I was not sure of Middlefield in that area ... thought it was Mountain View, but I also forgot that is where Toyota of Palo Alto is.
Charleston Gardens
on Aug 27, 2013 at 4:37 pm
on Aug 27, 2013 at 4:37 pm
Drove by right after it happened. It was a shocking sight. The cab was crushed. I knew something bad happened to the driver. You could tell. Very sorry for that.
Green Acres
on Aug 29, 2013 at 11:03 am
on Aug 29, 2013 at 11:03 am
RIP
Charleston Gardens
on Aug 29, 2013 at 10:45 pm
on Aug 29, 2013 at 10:45 pm
We drove by right when the tow truck was pulling the cement truck away from the scene. The cabin was completely smashed, just crushed. I knew there was no way the driver could of survived that. At that spot it's a normal size intersection, if he was turning fast he could have been running a light and he may have had to step on the gas before the turn. Then knowing the vehicle was going out of control and was about to slide at that moment (at 58 he could have have had a heart attack don't know)he panicked it probably set in and he tried to over compensate the steering,at 5:00 A.M. the road could have been wet from mist and the weight of that truck was top heavy, he fell over and slid into the tree. and the weight of that cement truck, the force of it sliding just crushed the top of that cabin. I live close to there, I see that all the time people running that light. just some theories. I don't believe drugs or alcohol was involved. very sad to see that, so Heart wrenching. my condolences to the family. RIP