Witnesses Saw Reckless Driving Before Crash That Killed 4 in Aptos

Two men, a woman and a teenage girl were killed and four other people were badly injured in a two-vehicle crash Sunday in Santa Cruz County after witnesses reported seeing a car driving recklessly, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The four people who died and three of the four injured were all inside of a black Mercedes-Benz C320, where CHP officers found proof of alcohol consumption, CHP Officer Bradley Sadek said.

“There was quite a bit of evidence to alcohol use, open containers, broken bottles,” Sadek said.

[Previous: Four Killed, Four Injured In Head-On Crash In Santa Cruz County.]

At about 8 p.m. Sunday, the Mercedes was heading west on Freedom Boulevard just west of Valencia Road east of the unincorporated Aptos area when for some reason it veered into the eastbound lane into the path of a Ford F-150 pickup truck, CHP Officer Brad Sadek said.

The Mercedes, carrying seven people who were not wearing safety restraints, crashed head-on into the Ford truck, killing the driver of the Mercedes, a 22-year-old man from Watsonville, Sadek said.

Two others who were sitting in the front passenger side of the Mercedes, an 18-year-old man from Watsonville and a 19-year-old woman from Soquel, also died at the scene, he said.

A 16-year-old Watsonville girl who was seated in the left rear passenger side died after being transported to Watsonville Community Hospital.

Others in the back seat, including an 18-year-old woman from Marina and a 17-year-old girl from Watsonville, were taken to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose with serious injuries and a 21-year-old Watsonville man was transported to Natividad Medical Center in Watsonville with critical injuries, according to the CHP.

CHP officials believe that the female in the front passenger seat of the Mercedes was sitting on the male passenger’s lap and that others in the back seat may also have been seated on another’s lap in order to fit in the car, Sadek said.

The driver of the pickup truck, a 56-year-old man from Aptos, suffered major injuries and was hospitalized at Valley Medical Center, according ton the CHP.

Minutes before the crash, some bystanders and drivers called 911 to report that the Mercedes was driving recklessly on Freedom Boulevard, Sadek said.

One reported seeing people dangling from the Mercedes’ moon roof and another witness said the car was speeding, he said. Officers have not been able to speak to any of the crash victims who survived because of the extent of their injuries, Sadek said.

The names of those who perished in the accident will not be released until their next of kin are notified, he said.

--Bay City News

--Image via Shutterstock

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