Not one, not two, but three cars collided next to De Anza College on Stevens Creek Boulevard last Wednesday, holding up traffic and drawing an array of emergency personnel to the scene.

The accident began at 10:28 a.m. when Earin Aao, driving a white Acura MDX, failed to stop her vehicle when traffic backed up and crashed straight into a white Mercedes Benz CZ30. The Mercedes then drove into the back of a black BMW 740 IL, driven by Pete Palmer, whose mother was in the passenger seat. The driver of the Mercedes Benz, Linda, did not provide her last name.

Foothill-De Anza Police officers were the first to respond to the accident. By 10:35 a.m. the Santa Clara Fire Department, Santa Clara Sheriff’s Department, California Highway Patrol and paramedics had arrived to assess the damage.

Aao was the only driver with injuries; she asked for an ice pack for her sprained hand. The other two drivers and the passenger had no injuries but were startled by the crash, they said.

Both the Acura and the Mercedes sustained major frontal damage at the impact point and were leaking fluid from their engines. The BMW, by contrast, experienced only minor rear-end damage. Palmer estimated that it will cost him $10,000 to repair his car.

At 10:40 a.m., the cars were moved to the side of the road in order to clear room for traffic, and campus police, paramedics and fire department personnel were dismissed from the scene so that sheriff’s deputies could conduct a short investigation led by Deputy Leo Gonzales.

According to one of the deputies, Aao was driving at an unsafe speed, so when traffic backed up, she could not slow down fast enough to avoid the car in front of her,.

“Anticipate that there is a lot of traffic and you need to be prepared to stop,” said Sherrif’s Deputy Steve Grisent, as advice to drivers on how to avoid accidents.

While the BMW remained in driving condition, a tow truck and a flatbed arrived at 11:05 a.m. for the Acura and Mercedes.

Traffic violations and accidents have been on the rise recently in the area surrounding the De Anza College campus, and the city of Cupertino has requested that the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Department crack down on violators.

Since Feb. 18, sheriff’s deputies have been stationed at random intersections near campus where they have been ticketing drivers who violate traffic laws.

Soheil Rezaee is a staff reporter for La Voz. Contact him at [email protected].