Two people were killed in local traffic accidents last week, both in wet, rainy conditions.
On March 14, 21-year-old Samuel Chinevere of Ben Lomond was killed when the 2000 Toyota Tacoma he was driving veered off Graham Hill Road and into a tree at 1:30 a.m.
Chinevere, a 2008 San Lorenzo Valley High School graduate, was an avid surfer and accomplished bass guitar player and was beginning a career as a tile setter.
The California Highway Patrol reported the weather as dark and rainy at the time of the accident.
Then, a 57-year-old man from Brentwood was killed in high-speed collision at 10:43 a.m. on Highway 17 at the Laurel Curve on Friday, March 16.
The man, Gerard Wener, was driving south when he lost control of his 2005 Nissan Altima and crossed through an area without guardrails into northbound traffic on the Laurel Curve. The front of his car hit the side of a 2002 Chevy Suburban driven by a Felton man. Wener’s car spun counterclockwise, and the back of the car hit the front of a 2001 Toyota 4-Runner driven by a man from Scotts Valley, carrying his wife and a 5-year-old child. The 4-Runner collided with a 2001 Acura Integra driven by a man from San Jose.
Wener was killed instantly, and all three passengers in the 4-Runner were injured and taken to Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz for treatment. The drivers of the other two vehicles escaped without injury. Conditions were reported as rainy.
Northbound Highway 17 was closed for three hours, causing slowdowns throughout the northern portion of Santa Cruz County.
Caltrans to install median on Highway 17 at Laurel Curve
California Department of Transportation officials announced Tuesday, March 20, that the agency would install a temporary concrete median barrier along a section of Highway 17 at Laurel Curve north of Scotts Valley.
Work began during the night Wednesday, March 21, after press time.
Caltrans officials said the decision was in response to a request from the California Highway Patrol, which CHP spokeswoman Sarah Jackson confirmed.
“We’ve requested this for a period of time,” Jackson said.
Jackson said the CHP recently sent Caltrans accident data from Laurel Curve.
The installation of the barrier, according to Jackson, was not a knee-jerk reaction by Caltrans to last week’s fatality, but a planned safety measure.
“This has been in the works for a while,” she said.
The barrier blocks southbound drivers from making a left turn across Highway 17 onto Laurel Road. Drivers will have to travel about three-quarters of a mile to Sugarloaf Road to make a left turn across the highway and return north to Laurel.
Caltrans spokesman Colin Jones said installing the barrier was the best choice for safety, despite the inconvenience to some residents.
“We believe at this point that with some more winter weather coming, that it was best to do a temporary barrier,” Jones said.
He noted that Caltrans is also planning to add several curve-warning signs in the southbound direction and will apply an experimental high-friction pavement treatment to the Laurel Curve area when the weather warms up in the summer.
Jones said Caltrans would continue working closely with CHP, the county of Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission to monitor the Laurel Curve area.
Drivers also need to heed speed limits and take safety precautions, Jackson said.
“It’s incumbent upon all drivers to arrive at their destination safely,” Jackson said. “This is a good reminder that the posted speed is for the ideal conditions.”
