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Uploaded: Saturday, November 24, 2012, 4:42 PM
Updated: Monday, November 26, 2012, 8:27 AM
Second sister dies following crash on 101
Black Friday accident occurs following all-night shopping trip
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A second sister critically injured in a crash with a California Highway Patrol vehicle on northbound U.S. 101 in Palo Alto on Friday morning succumbed to her injuries Friday night, according to the CHP.
The double-fatal collision was reported at 6:49 a.m. at Embarcadero Road. A silver Lexus SUV crashed into a CHP vehicle that was pulled over on the right-hand side of the road.
The SUV was occupied by the Tandel family from San Bruno, with the father, Arvind Tandel, 48, driving, his 34-year-old wife in the passenger seat, and his four daughters, ages 12 to 24, sitting in the back seats, CHP Officer Amelia Jack said.
A 24-year-old woman, Nisha Tandel, the oldest of the siblings, was ejected with another sister from the SUV after the SUV struck the CHP vehicle. The 24-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene, Officer Jack said.
Another sister, Sheetal Tandel, 20, was brought to Stanford Hospital and later succumbed to her injuries at the hospital Friday night, according to the CHP.
Yogita Tandel, 34, was also brought to that hospital with major injuries. Jack said on Monday that she is still in critical condition.
Arvind Tandel suffered major injuries and was taken to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, as was the 12-year-old girl with moderate injuries and another sister, Payal Tandel, 22.
Before the crash, the CHP vehicle driven by CHP Officer Matis had pulled up next to a broken-down white Ford F-350 pickup truck that was pulled over on the right-hand shoulder. After speaking to the truck's occupants, Officer Matis pulled up in front of the truck, which is when the SUV swerved into the shoulder for unknown reasons and hit the rear left side of the parked patrol vehicle, Officer Jack said.
The SUV then flipped multiple times before coming to a rest on its wheels near the Embarcadero Road off-ramp after the two sisters were ejected.
CHP Officer Matis suffered a cut and bruise to his face. He was the sole occupant in the CHP vehicle. He was taken to a hospital where he was treated and released.
Drugs and alcohol do not appear to be a factor in the fatal collision, Officer Jack said.
The 24-year-old and 20-year-old sisters were not wearing seatbelts, according to the CHP. The other four family members were buckled up.
The CHP officer had put up a flashing arrowboard while he was pulled over completely onto the highway's shoulder, according to the CHP.
Following the crash, traffic was backed up as far south as the junction with state Highway 85, about 5 miles away, with lane closures in effect for more than six hours until about 1 p.m. The nearby on- and off-ramps were closed until about 4:15 p.m., according to the CHP.— Bay City News Service Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by So Sad, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Nov 24, 2012 at 11:28 pm Such sad and tragic news. Our deepest condolences to the Tandel family.
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Posted by saleha, a resident of the Palo Alto Orchards neighborhood, on Nov 25, 2012 at 12:56 am So sad, this is very tragic for this family. Condolences. But Palo Alto online, the mom can't be 34 because that would mean she was 14 years old when she had her first daughter. Please confirm that's not true.
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Posted by saleha, a resident of the Palo Alto Orchards neighborhood, on Nov 25, 2012 at 12:59 am Correction, that would mean she was 10 when she had her first child. She has to be in her 40s.
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Posted by musical, a resident of the Palo Verde neighborhood, on Nov 25, 2012 at 5:37 am Stepmother perhaps?
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Posted by JW, a resident of Mountain View, on Nov 25, 2012 at 6:21 am So incredibly tragic. Sadly preventable with seat belts.
I was thinking stepmom as well. If the mom is 34 she can't possibly have a 24 or 22 year old.
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Posted by tired of the BS, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Nov 25, 2012 at 8:56 am From how I read the article, I believe all of the women were sisters. A husband and wife and his four sisters.
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Posted by Sad, a resident of the Evergreen Park neighborhood, on Nov 25, 2012 at 7:58 pm My heart goes out to all those affected by this tragedy. I see sooo many vehicles with toddlers, young children, even teenagers without seatbelts on. Kids jumping around in back seats, standing on back seats watching traffic as it goes by. Please, buckle up your children and MAKE them stay in the safety belts. Love them. Protect them.
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Posted by Sadder, a resident of the Southgate neighborhood, on Nov 25, 2012 at 9:26 pm [Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
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Posted by Consumerism Got'em, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Nov 25, 2012 at 11:30 pm [Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
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Posted by interested , a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Nov 26, 2012 at 5:49 am san jose mercury reported that chp officer was parallel parked! did this reduce the width of the lane where accident occurred?
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Posted by Ducatigirl, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Nov 26, 2012 at 8:48 am [Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
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Posted by Tragic News, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Nov 26, 2012 at 9:14 am [Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
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Posted by musical, a resident of the Palo Verde neighborhood, on Nov 26, 2012 at 9:45 am @Tragic >> outta be a law that stores cannot open for business between 1AM-5AM
Those are my preferred shopping hours. No crowd at Safeway.
Why don't you just suggest a comprehensive curfew or martial law?
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Posted by Tragic News, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Nov 26, 2012 at 10:42 am @Musical: Yes, a comprehensive curfew is a great idea! Nothing good happens in the wee hours. Parents of teens would love it. And if you shop at Safeway at Midnight or 5AM, doubtful there are crowds.
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Posted by Sad in PA, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Nov 26, 2012 at 11:09 am A family has lost two children, this is a terrible tragedy, and some of you feel it's okay to speculate about why they were driving and judge them, as if they somehow deserved it. Shame on you.
It is a lesson in how important it is to buckle up for the rest of us. Given the ages of the sisters, they were old enough to know they needed to buckle up.
@Sadder - Accidents are called accidents because people make mistakes, no matter how much you educate them. Preventing accidents through education is important as you suggest, but you can't prevent all accidents, and making accidents more survivable IS important, buckling up is the first and easiest step. We need to buckle up not because an accident is likely but because the risk of injury or death if one does happen is so markedly reduced. Here, the occupants made a mistake as well as the driver. It's tragic, that is all. The lesson is to do what we already know, which is buckle up. And treasure every day.
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Posted by Don't Judge, a resident of the Charleston Meadows neighborhood, on Nov 26, 2012 at 11:38 am While I don't suggest going crazy with the Black Friday sales, and surely wouldn't recommend going out in the wee hours to shop, this family was shopping for gifts that there were going to bring to India for the eldest daughter's wedding (as opposed to being consumed by the materialistic culture). Please do not judge.
Every related article I read listed the wife's age at 34. The Palo Alto online article did say his wife and his (not their) 4 daughters. She's likely a step-mom.
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