Family awaits answers after San Jose electrician was killed in work crash

By CBS Bay Area

The loving siblings of a San Jose city electrician killed while repairing a streetlight are still waiting for answers about the crash that ended his life.

Ari Green, 50, was working in the bucket of his city work truck on Tuesday, Aug. 25, near the intersection of Hillsdale and Narvaez Avenues when police say a box truck crashed into him. Green was killed in the collision.

His older sister, Cindy Gallegos, remembers her brother as someone who loved his work.

“Ari loved being an electrician. He did his job to keep people safe,” Gallegos said.

Now, she says her mornings feel much darker without the brother who used to light up her phone with pictures and messages.

“He was always a hugger,” she said. “And he always called and we would make fun of him, but now I want him to call because he always ended every call with, ‘I love you.'”

Green was repairing a streetlight when the crash happened. His family says they still have questions about what led up to the collision.

“How did he not get protected, you know?” Gallegos said.

San Jose police say the driver of the box truck remained at the scene and cooperated with officers. Police say they have not arrested the driver and do not believe drugs or alcohol were involved.

But investigators have not yet publicly released more details about what led to the crash.

Gallegos said the family has been told the investigation remains active.

“We still don’t know why it happened,” she said. “We just want to know why. Why did I lose my brother?”

Retired Irvine Police Detective Jonathan Cherney, who specializes in roadway collisions, said investigators typically need to complete a detailed examination before determining whether an arrest or criminal charges are warranted.

“In order to give the family the justice that they want, and that they deserve, the number one thing that needs to be done is a complete investigation. Inspecting the damage in the vehicles, possibly downloading the event data recorders from the vehicles, interviewing them,” said Cherney.

He said an arrest can be made later if they find that there was some kind of negligence on behalf of the driver.

Cal/OSHA is also investigating the workplace death. The agency says it has up to six months to issue citations if it identifies violations of workplace safety and health regulations.

“I want to know why and I want to make sure someone else’s family doesn’t have to do the same thing,” Gallegos said.

As her family gathered in San Jose for Green’s funeral on Friday, Gallegos held onto the small moments that now mean even more — a loving text, a hug, and telling her daughter, “I love you” as she picked her up from the airport.

Gallegos said Green leaves behind an 80-year-old mother he was “financially taking care of,” and an online fundraiser set up in the wake of Green’s death has raised roughly $14,000 as of Monday night.