Woman killed in San Jose pileup

A five-car crash at one of South San Jose’s busiest intersections turned deadly on Saturday afternoon, and the picture is only now getting clearer. The woman who died was Kimberly Karnes, 33. Police say the crash started when a southbound Mercedes hit Karnes’ Kia near Santa Teresa Boulevard and Blossom Hill Road at about 3:54 p.m., then set off a chain reaction that ended with the Mercedes on fire. (sjpd.org) ### What exactly happened? The basic sequence is pretty stark. Police say a silver 2020 Mercedes, driven by an adult man with a juvenile passenger inside, was heading south on Santa Teresa when it struck Karnes’ green 2016 Kia as she was moving into the dedicated left-turn lane for eastbound Blossom Hill. That impact pushed both vehicles into a stopped white 2024(sjpd.org)arnes’ Kia also struck a white Toyota stopped in a second left-turn lane. (sjpd.org) ### Why did this become such a major rescue scene? Because the Mercedes caught fire after the crash — with the driver and juvenile passenger still inside. Officers got both of them out and handed them over to medics. A witness told NBC Bay Area he and others helped pull one of the people from the burning car, which helps explain why the scene felt so chaotic even by multi-car-crash standards. (sjpd.org) ### Who was killed? The woman driving the Kia died after being taken to the hospital. On Monday, the Santa Clara County medical examiner identified her as Kimberly Karnes, 33. Everyone involved except the BMW driver was taken to local hospitals with injuries that police described as varying in severity. (ktvu.com)olice say alcohol and drugs do not appear to be factors. That matters because fiery chain-reaction crashes often trigger immediate speculation about speeding or impairment. Investigators have not ruled on the cause yet, but they’ve publicly pointed away from intoxication as the obvious explanation. (sjpd. ([ktvu.com)tors looking at instead? A possible medical emergency. A San Jose police spokesperson said investigators have some indication the Mercedes driver may have been experiencing one before the crash. That is still preliminary — not a final finding — but it shifts the story from “reckless driver” toward “sudden incapacitation may have started this.” (nbcbayarea.com) ### Why does the location matter? Santa Teresa Boulevard and Blossom Hill Road is a big, heavily traveled South San Jose intersection near Oakridge. Multiple dedicated turn lanes, several stopped cars, and cross-direction traffic mean one bad impact can ricochet fast. That seems to be what happened here — one initial hit turned into damage across five vehicles in a matter of seconds. (sjpd.org) ### Is this part of a bigger traffic-safety problem? At least in raw numbers, yes. San Jose police say this was the city’s 18th fatal collision and 18th traffic death of 2026. That does not tell you the cause of this specific crash, but it does show this was not an isolated blip in a quiet year. (sjpd.org(sjpd.org)nd police are asking anyone with information to contact Detective DelliCarpini. The big unresolved question is simple — what caused the Mercedes to hit the Kia in the first place. Everything else in this crash seems to flow from that one moment. (sjpd.org) specific now: Kimberly Karnes was killed, several other people were hurt, and a five-car chain reaction ended with a burning Mercedes at a major San Jose intersection. The missing piece is the cause — and turns out that answer may depend less on drugs or alcohol than on whether the driver suffered a medical emergency just before impact. (sjpd.org)