A woman walking near Highway 101 in San Jose allegedly went after passing vehicles with a knife on Saturday morning, triggering major traffic delays. The California Highway Patrol said it received the first call around 11:10 a.m. about a woman walking near the freeway just south of Bernal Road.
According to NBC Bay Area, authorities initially reported that the woman was walking from the right-hand shoulder toward the center divide. By 11:13 a.m., CHP said she was reportedly “going after vehicles with a knife,” a dramatic escalation that sent the freeway into disarray.
Traffic Delays Build Near Bernal Road
Images from the scene showed a severe backup building as the incident unfolded. The incident snarled traffic on Highway 101.
Telemundo Área de la Bahía also covered the incident, reporting that a woman allegedly “atacaba vehículos con un cuchillo” — attacking vehicles with a knife — caused heavy congestion on the freeway. That outlet's account similarly placed the initial CHP call at about 11:10 a.m. and located the woman south of Bernal Road.
Lanes Reopen, but Questions Remain
By 11:43 a.m., CHP reported that lanes 1 and 2 on southbound Highway 101, just south of Highway 85, had reopened, offering some relief to the backed-up commute. It is not clear how long the fuller shutdown lasted before that partial reopening. NBC Bay Area reported, citing San Jose police, that the woman was taken into custody, transported to a local hospital and died there.
The sergeant took the woman into custody and transported her to a hospital, where she died, police said. Her identity had not been released, and police had not provided further details about what happened or said whether drugs or alcohol were believed to be involved, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Authorities have not publicly stated a cause of death.
Later information from San Jose police added important context to the initial CHP alert: an on-duty sergeant saw the woman actively injuring herself, while the earlier CHP dispatch relayed a report that she was going after vehicles with a knife. Police described the response as a welfare check after several 911 callers reported self-harm near Metcalf Road. The distinction matters: the initial traffic alert relayed what was being reported, not a confirmed assault on motorists, as NBC Bay Area’s updated account makes clear.
