Scotts Valley man killed in Sunday crash

Scotts Valley’s Jose Absalon Barrientos was killed Sunday afternoon on his way to a family picnic when a driver crashed head-on into his Harley-Davidson on Highway 1.
Barrientos, 54, was pronounced dead at Highway 1 and Scaroni Road, north of Santa Cruz, according to the California Highway Patrol and the county Coroner’s Office.
A Santa Cruz woman, Sherri Lee Chinn, 38, was arrested at the scene and now faces charges of vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license.
Chinn has two prior convictions for driving under the influence. On Sunday, her blood-alcohol level tested at three times the legal limit.
“That’s about 12 drinks in 12 hours and is a very high BAC level,” CHP officer Sarah Jackson said.
Chinn, driving a Honda Odyssey van, also hit a car driven by Barrientos’ wife, who was following him with their 7-month-old daughter on their way to a picnic in Half Moon Bay after attending church. The infant was not hurt, but her mother suffered minor injuries.
Chinn’s two passengers, both seated in the front seat of the van, were also injured, Jackson said.
A 56-year-old Watsonville resident, still unnamed, was flown to San Jose Regional Medical Center and died this morning. He was the registered owner of the van, according to reports.
The other passenger in the van, a 55-year-old man from Nevada, was flown to Valley Medical Center, where he is recovering in the trauma center, according to the CHP.
The Barrientos family had just recently moved to a mobile home park in Scotts Valley from San Jose, Jackson said.
A driver who witnessed the crash told the CHP that right before the crash, Chinn was driving on the wrong side of the road going south in the northbound lanes.
The witness had swerved into the southbound lanes to avoid colliding with the van and then watched the wreck in her rearview mirror.
“The motorcyclist couldn’t get out of the way in time,” Jackson said.
Chinn lists her address as the Homeless Service Center in Santa Cruz.
She is being held in Santa Cruz County Jail, with bail set at $50,000.
The collision remains under investigation.