Chicago software company CEO wife among 4 killed in San Francisco crash

The chief executive of a Chicago software company and his wife were among four people killed when a “potentially impaired” woman drove the wrong way early Thursday on Highway 101 in San Francisco and collided with a taxi.

Authorities identified the taxi passengers as Judson Bergman, 62, of Barrington, Ill, and Mary Miller, 57, of Chicago. The driver of the taxi was identified as Berkant Ahmed, 42, from San Carlos.

In a statement, Chicago company Envestnet officials confirmed Bergman and Miller were among the fatalities. Bergman, who was most recently chairman and chief executive officer, founded the company in 1999. They apparently had been picked up at San Francisco International Airport, authorities said.

“On behalf of our Board of Directors, management team and employees, we extend our deepest sympathies to Jud and Mary’s family,” company officials said. “As Envestnet’s founder, Jud was a remarkable leader whose vision, brilliance and drive built the foundation for Envestnet’s success.”

The driver of the Volkswagen was identified as Emilie Ross, a 34-year-old woman from Burlingame. Her Volkswagen sedan was heading south on northbound lanes around 12:30 a.m. when she struck the Ford Escape cab just north of Paul Avenue, minutes after police received at least one call about the wrong-way driver, according to California Highway Patrol. The crash closed northbound lanes of Highway 101 for nearly seven hours.

“We are devastated by the death of our daughter Emilie,” her family said in a statement Friday. “We grieve for her and for those who died along with her, and for their families. We have no information about the accident beyond what has been reported in the news.”

CHP initially said Ross was impaired but later on Thursday said she was “potentially impaired.” A call to a CHP spokesman was not immediately returned Friday morning.

All four people were pronounced dead at the scene. Bergman was ejected from the car, CHP spokesman Officer Bert Diaz said.

It remains unclear why, how or when Ross drove her silver 2002 Volkswagen Cabrio two-door sedan onto the northbound lanes of 101 and headed south before the crash.

Several agencies were investigating the collision Thursday, but identifying the cause will be difficult because nobody in the vehicles survived, Diaz said. Authorities are also investigating whether all passengers were wearing seat belts.

“We don’t have anyone to take a statement from, so we’re going to do as thorough an investigation as we can using cameras, dash cams and pictures from social media,” Diaz said.

The taxi was operated by National Cab of San Francisco, according to CHP. A dispatcher at National declined to comment Thursday and referred questions to his manager, who did not respond to requests for comment.

The wrong-way crash was the 25th in the Bay Area this year, according to CHP. Ten of these incidents caused fatalities. Intoxicated drivers were blamed in 18 of the wrong-way collisions, and 16 people were arrested for driving under the influence.