HWY17

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Dude, I did wonder how bad your commute was gonna be. Glad you made it home safe.

[Greg]

Yikes. You have my permission to telecommute on Thursday.

[Drunk Monk]

There are those times when 17 is something to be survived. 3 major accidents NB in the pouring rain and fog - one was a car fire - 10 ft flames in the downpour reducing the road to 5 ft visibility from the smoke and steam, and the reek of burning tires.

Everything looks surreal to me lately given my headspace but that was super surreal.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

When you see shit that looks like a movie, it is generally Really Bad.

[Drunk Monk]

Given that the last movie I saw was Alita, I must concur.

[Drunk Monk]

snow

on summit

for several miles

signs of the apocalypse

[Greg]

Or awesomeness.

Or the SOTU is tonight.

[Drunk Monk]

good point. i scared now.

actually it was kinda pretty.

[Greg]

Launch the drone!

[Drunk Monk]

Sux to hear 17 is closed on the radio just when I’m sb @ Lexington

[Drunk Monk]

Hit the road at 4pm - dodged the 85 snarl via 280 - got to the cats in good time.

Then at Lexington I hear the radio announcement. The ascent was 3-5 mph. There was a huge accident  at summit but it was NB -SB was just rubberneckers. What should’ve taken me under an hour took 2.5 hours. 

Somewhere on 17 I started laughing maniacally at all the kicks to the groin this week has delivered.

[Drunk Monk]

CHP investigating fatal and major injury crashes on Highway 17



By:

• Brandon Castillo 
  
  
   
  
  
•  Avery Johnson 
  
  
   
   
  
  
• Josh Kristianto 
  
  
  

Posted: Feb 14, 2019 04:15 PM PST
Updated: Feb 14, 2019 11:01 PM PST 









CHP investigating fatal and major injury crashes on Highway 17
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. - UPDATE 2/14/2019 10:00 p.m. CHP Santa Cruz issued an update saying that a crash on Highway 17 in the northbound lanes of the summit involving a tree was fatal.
A crash that happened earlier in the same area involving an overturned car resulted in major injuries and not fatalities.
It was a long night for drivers along Highway 17 with traffic slowing things down to a crawl. 
"I got the alert on Twitter and then at work. So I left probably around four o'clock. Got all the way up to the summit to the very front and then got turned around by the police," said Jennifer Rettig, a Los Gatos resident.  
Rettig makes the commute daily from her Santa Cruz office to her Los Gatos home. Only this time she was stopped. 
"Decided that I'd better just spend Valentine's Day with other people stranded here at the top of the hill," said Rettig, who stopped by the Summit House restaurant with other drivers to wait out the traffic. 
"Looking at the traffic, we can't go back home the normal direction which is only 7 miles away," said Dan Knudsen, another Los Gatos resident. "We're going to wind up driving about 20 miles around to get to our house." 
"I had a dinner with my 12 year old son for Valentine's, so he's a little bummed," said Rettig. 
Others tried to brave the slow battle up the hill in hopes of maybe making it to their Valentine's Day plans. But Rettig just made the best of it. 
"We were all strangers at the bar just chatting with each other about that and plotting our route home as best as we could," she said. "So yeah, kindred spirits." 
 
UPDATE 2/14/2019 6:01 p.m. CHP Santa Cruz issued an update saying that a crash on Highway 17 in the northbound lanes of the summit involving a tree was fatal.
A crash that happened earlier in the same area involving an overturned car resulted in major injuries and not fatalities.
CHP still hopes to have northbound lanes reopened within an hour.
 
UPDATE 2/14/2019 5:45 p.m. CHP Santa Cruz is at the scene of two fatal crashes on Highway 17 near the Summit.
It started when a car flipped in the northbound lane of the highway, but then a tree on the southbound side fell and hit a car in the northbound lane. The driver lost consciousness and hit several other cars.
CHP reports that both of these collisions now involve fatalities.
The southbound lanes are cleared and reopened, but the northbound side of the highway is closed.
Crews hope to have those lanes cleared within the hour, but expect heavy traffic if you are traveling in that direction.
 
PREVIOUS STORY: Drivers can expect major traffic delays on Highway 17. 
According to the California Highway Patrol, all northbound lanes at Summit Road near Redwood Estates were blocked as of 4 p.m. Thursday. 
CHP said they're responding to multiple injury accidents and downed trees before and after the Summit. 
Traffic on northbound Hwy 17 is being diverted to Summit Road. 

well, at least i didn't die...

[thatguy]

My GF was at a trade show in SF last week and they put her up in a hotel. I got a ride in to the office Wed AM, and took the train to SF and reverse commuted by train all last week, so luckily I got to participate as a spectator this time around. Got an email from my landlord on Thurs that the power was out, so we weren't to use any water as the pump was out of commission. I came home Fri night expecting they'd have it worked out, but no. My neighbors said they had come out, but they were unable to connect a generator to the pump as it was hardwired. I've been there 10 years. I don't know why the landlords were just discovering this now. I stayed at my GFs over the weekend. Apparently the power came back last night ~midnight. There's a tree across Old SJ Rd north of me right now, so my commute options are limited. Staying at my mom's tonight.



--tg

[Drunk Monk]

Man injured when argument leads to shooting off Highway 17 near Los Gatos
Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office investigating incident on Summit Road

By MARK GOMEZ | mgomez@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: June 12, 2019 at 8:15 am | UPDATED: June 12, 2019 at 3:42 pm
LOS GATOS — A man was shot and injured late Tuesday following an argument in a park and ride lot off Highway 17, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.
About 10:15 p.m., deputies were flagged down by a person in the area of Summit Drive and Highway 17 in unincorporated Los Gatos. The person reportedly heard two people arguing outside of their vehicles on Summit Road, followed by what sounded like a gunshot, according to the sheriff’s office.
The victim, a 33-year-old man, was shot in his right ankle and drove himself to a family member’s residence nearby, according to the sheriff’s office. The family member then drove the man to a hospital. His injuries do not appear to be life-threatening at this time, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies located at least one expended bullet casing at the scene of the shooting.
The suspect is described as a man in his 30s, about 5-foot-10 and 160 pounds with strawberry blonde hair. He was was last seen driving a silver-colored Cadillac CTS, traveling south on Highway 17.
Based on the preliminary investigation, the shooting “appears to be an isolated incident and there is no immediate risk to the public,” the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office is investigating. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office at 408-808-4500 or through the anonymous tip line at 408- 808-4431

and i thot the beach traffic wuz bad...

[Drunk Monk]

I could post this on our 4:20 thread but it’s my first 2019 beach traffic snarl