What happened to Tyler Tolentino Rasay? Officials identify victims of Sunnyvale car crash that killed 3 and injured 5 others

A car crash in Sunnyvale, California, left three people dead and five others hospitalized on Monday, May 22, 2023. It was reported that the incident occurred in the early morning hours when a Ford pickup truck caused a chain collision on US Highway 101. Two of the deceased have been identified as 28-year-old Tyler Tolentino Rasay and 24-year-old Paul August Dennig. The name of the third victim has not yet been disclosed by Sunnyvale authorities.

Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of a fatal car crash. Readers' discretion is advised.

Authorities in Sunnyvale are currently investigating the circumstances around the incident. They believe that the chain reaction began after the Ford Pickup truck struck the center divider of the highway, blocking the northbound lanes. Subsequently, several other cars crashed into the pickup, causing collisions involving at least six vehicles.

Three individuals reportedly got out of their vehicles after the initial collision and were struck by another car, causing two of them to be thrown into a Southbound lane. Meanwhile, two other victims were also struck by another vehicle. However, Sunnyvale officials are yet to confirm if these two victims were Tyler Tolentino Rasay and Paul August Dennig, or other victims of the crash. It is still unclear to the public exactly how Tyler and Paul were killed.

NBC Bay Area traffic reporter Mike Inouye tweeted that both directions of Highway 101 were closed following the crash.

All there is to know about Sunnyvale crash victim Tyler Tolentino Rasay

Tyler Tolentino Rasay was a 28-year-old San Francisco Bay Area-based electrical distribution engineer. According to his LinkedIn page, Rasay received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering at the San Francisco State University in 2020. As he worked on his degree, he also served as Vice President of the Solar Electric Vehicle Team in California.

Over the years, Rasay used his qualification in electrical engineering to work as an engineer and IT field technician for various companies, including First Republic Bank and WSP USA. At the time of his death in the Sunnyvale accident, he was an associate engineer at the Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

As reported by NBC Bay Area News, the crash victim's family said that in his free time, he was an avid skateboarder with a fascination for cars.

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The official account of the Sunnyvale incident

NBC reporter Marianne Favro also reported about the car collision on Twitter. In her tweet, she noted that at the time of the tweet, investigators said that they didn't suspect drugs or alcohol playing a role in the collision.

In an interview with local reporters, California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Ross Lee described the details of the incident. Lee said that after the first collision where the pickup truck crashed into a center median, at least two other vehicles collided with the truck and the debris that came out of it.

He said that they believe that the drivers of the two other vehicles stopped within the lanes got out of their cars to assess the damage and check on other drivers and make sure everyone was okay. He added:

"Additional vehicles that were travelling northbound came into contact with the scene and collided with the scene as well."

As mentioned earlier, officials stated that they do not believe impairment played a role in the incident. No arrests have been made in connection to the crash.