A late-night drive across the Bay Bridge turned fatal when a San Mateo woman allegedly looked down to change the radio and slammed into slowing traffic, triggering a chain-reaction wreck that killed a 27-year-old man, authorities say. The multi-car collision unfolded in the westbound lanes near Yerba Buena Island after one car rear-ended another in heavy traffic, setting off a pileup that shut down most of the span.
According to The Mercury News, Alameda County prosecutors last Thursday charged Adele Mari Lee with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. Court documents cited by the outlet state that Lee’s vehicle rear-ended a silver Toyota Corolla driven by Erwin Jacob Patawaran Lecitona, pushing it into other cars. Lecitona had two passengers in the Corolla, and one of them was injured.
The California Highway Patrol said the crash happened around 11:17 PM on the westbound I-80 near the Treasure Island/Yerba Buena Island incline when a high-speed Genesis failed to slow for traffic ahead, according to SFGATE. The Genesis hit the Corolla, setting off a four-vehicle chain reaction that shut most westbound lanes. First responders had to extricate Lecitona from the Corolla; he was rushed to an Oakland hospital with major head injuries and later died.
Relatives identified the victim as 27-year-old Erwin Jacob Patawaran Lecitona of San Mateo and launched a GoFundMe to help cover funeral expenses. The fundraiser describes him as a supportive family member who “still had his whole life ahead of him” and lists his date of death as May 2, 2025, reflecting the family’s immediate plans after the crash, according to GoFundMe.
The deadly wreck is one more entry in a grim trend of distraction-related crashes on Bay Area bridges. In January, the California Highway Patrol reported that a driver looking at his phone plowed into a stalled car on the San Mateo Bridge, killing a person, according to NBC Bay Area. Traffic safety advocates have long warned that even a one-second glance away from the road can be enough to cause a deadly collision on high-speed spans like the Bay Bridge.
What Happens Next In Court
Lee is scheduled to appear in Alameda County court on Feb. 17, 2026, and has been booked on a single count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, The Mercury News reported. Under California law, Penal Code section 192(c) defines vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence as a wobbler, meaning prosecutors can pursue either a misdemeanor or a felony. Potential penalties range from up to one year in county jail to two, four, or six years in state prison, per California Penal Code §192.
The California Highway Patrol’s investigation is ongoing, and the agency has said that the driver who struck the Corolla cooperated with officers at the scene, according to SFGATE. Prosecutors are expected to continue reviewing the evidence as the case moves toward the February hearing.
