Man Arrested For Leaving Scene Of Deadly Highway 9 Crash
SARATOGA (CBS SF) – A 29-year-old man is in custody for a car crash down a cliff off of state Highway 9 outside Saratoga early Wednesday morning that killed a 19-year-old woman and left a teenage girl with major injuries, according to the California Highway Patrol.
San Leandro resident Alex Eduardo Antunez Garcia was arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run, vehicular manslaughter and being an unlicensed driver, CHP Officer Ross Lee said.
Antunez Garcia wasn't at the scene when officers arrived, but surrendered to authorities hours later, Lee said.
Around 1 a.m., officers responded to a report of a crash involving a possible death on the freeway west of Redwood Gulch Road, Lee said.
Emergency crews responded and found a pregnant and injured 15-year-old girl and a 19-year-old woman who had died at the scene, according to the CHP.
The trio was heading east in a 2014 Nissan Versa sightseeing through the area with people they knew in other cars traveling in the same direction, Lee said.
The people in the other cars didn't witness the crash, according to Lee.
Officers learned the driver steered the Nissan off the road and went down an embankment before the vehicle crashed into a large tree about 30 feet away from the highway, CHP officials said.
They looked for the driver with help from the Santa Clara County Fire Department and the county sheriff's office, but were unable to find him at the scene, according to the CHP.
Officers found the driver's cellphone and other documents inside the Nissan, CHP officials said.
There were no obvious signs of drugs or alcohol involved in the crash, Lee said.
The Santa Clara County medical examiner's office responded and took custody of the woman who died, CHP officials said. Her name hasn't been released as of this morning.
The 15-year-old girl was transported to a hospital in critical condition, CHP officials said.
The roadway was closed until 5 a.m. for officers to remove the vehicle, which was impounded for evidence, according to the CHP.
The alleged driver, Antunez Garcia, surrendered to San Jose police, who notified the CHP, Lee said.
He will be booked into Santa Clara County Jail, Lee said.
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