A vehicle that crossed the double yellow line on Highway 25 near the San Benito/Santa Clara County line is believed to have caused an accident that left the vehicles in flames and forced the closure of the heavily traveled commuting route for an hour and 15 minutes Monday morning.

The California Highway Patrol received a call about the accident at approximately 7:15 a.m. Monday, with callers reporting that the crash involved two vehicles. The CHP said a witness indicated that a black vehicle — later identified as a 1967 Camaro driven by a 41-year-old Hollister resident — appeared to make a U-turn in front of a 1994 Acura Legend and caused the collision. Witness Yesenia Perez Casas posted on Facebook that "I witnessed this horrible accident on highway 25 this morning. A Good Samaritan pulled a man out of the burning black car."

The Hollister man had moderate injuries and was airlifted to a San Jose hospital, according to the CHP. The San Jose man suffered minor injuries and was transported by ambulance

Within 10 minutes, the CHP reported that both vehicles were fully engulfed in flames and that Hwy. 25 would need to be shut down in both directions. At that time of the morning, the northbound direction — in particular — is busy because of the thousands of San Benito County commuters heading to the Bay Area for work. Traffic was diverted onto Shore Road while crews tended to the scene. 

At one point, the CHP reported that a tow truck heading to the scene was stuck in traffic behind a long line of vehicles. The driver requested to use the shoulder of the roadway or obtain a CHP escort to the scene.