Man dies in wrong-way crash

An 80-year-old man driving the wrong direction on Highway 17 near Pasatiempo Drive was killed in a head-on crash early New Year’s morning.
Robert Rogers was driving his 1969 Chevrolet pickup north in the southbound lanes of Highway 17 just north of Pasatiempo Drive at 4:15 a.m., when he collided with a 1997 Honda sedan with four passengers, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Rogers was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt, CHP officer Sarah Jackson said.
The CHP is investigating whether Rogers had alcohol in his system at the time of the crash. He is scheduled for an autopsy this week, and toxicology reports will follow, according to the Santa Cruz County Coroner’s Office.
The other car was driven by Donald Rossini, a 24-year-old Santa Cruz man, authorities said.
Rossini and his three passengers were flown to Valley Medical Center in San Jose, while both lanes of the highway were shut down for about two hours. Traffic was diverted to Sims Road as Caltrans workers cleared away wood that had spilled from the back of Rogers’ truck.
Rossini was released with moderate injuries, Jackson said. Passengers Kaitlin Simmons, 20, of Los Gatos, and Jonathon Nunes, 23, of San Jose, are still being treated for major injuries.
Charlie Thomas, 21, of Santa Cruz, was the most severely injured in the crash. He was not wearing a seat belt.
Jackson said Rossini had not consumed alcohol.
Investigating officers could not determine where Rogers had entered the highway —
perhaps from Ocean Street in Santa Cruz or the Pasatiempo Drive off-ramp, Jackson said.