San Jose: Suspected DUI driver causes deadly crash on Monterey Road, police say

SAN JOSE — A woman suspected of driving drunk caused a collision that killed a passenger in another car on Monterey Road on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

The crash was reported at 5:35 p.m. after a woman driving a silver 2007 Ford sedan heading west on Rancho Drive took a left turn onto southbound Monterey Road, according to the San Jose Police Department. That put her in the path of a northbound blue 2013 BMW coupe, and the two vehicles collided, causing the BMW to hit the center divider and cross into southbound lanes.

A passenger in the BMW was taken to the hospital with serious injuries and was later pronounced dead. He has been identified by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office as 39-year-old Jerome Michael Castro, a resident of Valley Springs in Calaveras County.

Both drivers were also taken to the hospital with major injuries but are expected to survive.

Police said the Ford driver “was suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the collision,” and that traffic investigators will present a case to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office to determine whether criminal charges will be filed. But she was not immediately arrested or cited due to her hospitalization.

The collision marked the city’s 28th traffic death of the year. San Jose had recorded 42 traffic deaths by the same point in 2024, according to data compiled by this news organization.

Anyone with information about Wednesday’s collision can contact Traffic Detective Ryan Leslie at 408-277-4654 or by email at 4264@sanjoseca.gov. Tips can also be left with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or siliconvalleycrimestoppers.org.