By Khalida Sarwari
The Santa Clara County medical examiner’s office has identified the victim of a fatal crash on northbound U.S. Highway 101 south of Gilroy early Friday morning as Manuel Palma, a 65-year-old San Leandro resident.
Shortly after midnight, Palma apparently made an unsafe lane change with his truck and trailer, causing the truck to run off the right side of the highway and strike a metal guardrail, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The truck continued to travel along the guardrail before it came to rest blocking lanes. The crash shut down the northbound lanes for more than nine hours.