By Melissa McRobbie and Khalida Sarwari
A Fremont man and a San Jose man were killed in separate crashes on Interstate Highway 880 this week.
Christopher Baskett, 39, died at a hospital Tuesday after he was ejected from his sport utility vehicle in a crash on I-880 in Fremont, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The crash happened at about 10:30 a.m. that day when Baskett, a Fremont resident, lost control of his blue 1994 Chevrolet Suburban as he drove south on I-880, north of Stevenson Boulevard.
The SUV veered left and struck the concrete center median, then overturned into lanes of southbound traffic.
Baskett, a Fremont resident, had two women riding in the SUV with him, one of whom was asleep in the backseat, according to the CHP.
None was wearing a seat belt, and as the SUV overturned, Baskett was thrown from the vehicle.
All three occupants were taken to Regional Medical Center of San Jose, where Baskett died. The two women suffered only minor injuries.
On Sunday afternoon, a crash on I-880 in San Jose claimed the life of 66-year-old Richard Milam.
Milam, a San Jose resident, was driving his Nissan Xterra south on I-880 when the crash happened at about 3:30 p.m. north of The Alameda.
CHP Officer Steve Griefer said a 1997 Honda Civic and a 1995 Honda Civic had stopped in the center median, and two pedestrians were standing near the two cars.
Milam’s Nissan approached and veered off the roadway for unknown reasons, striking the center median and hitting the 1997 Honda Civic, which overturned and struck the pedestrians.
Milam was taken to a hospital where he later died. The pedestrians, both 19-year-old Newark residents, were seriously injured, Griefer said.
The CHP is investigating whether alcohol or drugs played a role in the accident.