By Bay City News
A driver who was killed in a four-car crash on Interstate Highway 580 in Livermore on Thursday has been identified as 29-year-old Reed Whittaker, according to the Alameda County coroner's bureau. Whittaker, a Livermore resident, was killed just after 10 a.m. Thursday in the crash on Highway 580 just east of North Livermore Avenue, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Steve Creel.
The crash appears to have occurred when a Hummer driven by Primitivo Garcia, a 53-year-old Livermore resident, struck a Jeep Cherokee from behind, Creel said. Those two cars hit another two cars and the Jeep burst into flames. The fire spread to the Hummer, but Garcia and his passenger, a man in his 20s, were able to escape. The pair was taken to Eden Medical Center with what appeared to be minor injuries, Creel said.
Emergency crews were eventually able to approach the Jeep and determined there was one deceased person inside, later identified as Whittaker. Garcia was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI and vehicular manslaughter after he was released from the hospital, Creel said.
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