Cyclist Killed; Possibly Impaired Driver Fled Scene In Santa Cruz County

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA – A 34-year-old man on a bicycle was struck and killed by an allegedly impaired woman who fled after the collision near Watsonville on Sunday night, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The collision occurred on Freedom Boulevard near Scurich Lane at about 8:40 p.m. when a 2007 Chrysler driven by Violeta Cervantes hit the 34-year-old bicyclist, a Scotts Valley resident whose name is not yet being
released.

Cervantes told investigators that she was distracted by her phone prior to the collision, CHP officials said.

The front of her car hit the rear of the bicycle. She then fled west but CHP officers eventually located the Chrysler driving west on Freedom Boulevard.

CHP officials said drugs and/or alcohol may have been a factor in the collision, which remains under investigation.

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--Bay City News/Image via Renee Schiavone, Patch staff