San Jose woman killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 17 near Los Gatos

A passenger was killed when the car she was riding in entered Highway 17 going the wrong direction near Los Gatos.

The crash was reported around 12:37 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, on southbound 17 in the area of the Cats restaurant, just south of the Santa Cruz Avenue interchange. A Toyota Camry was traveling north in the southbound lanes and struck two cars, the California Highway Patrol said.

The Toyota’s passenger, a 43-year-old San Jose woman, was declared dead at the scene. The driver, a 44-year-old San Jose man, suffered major injuries and was taken to a hospital.

The drivers of the southbound vehicles, a Honda Civic and a Honda Del Sol, were also injured and went to a hospital.

The CHP said the preliminary investigation indicated intoxication was a factor.

That stretch of Highway 17 had long been a trouble spot, with drivers attempting to make a left turn onto northbound Highway 17 from the Cats driveway. The left turn was made illegal, and about eight years ago pylons were installed in the median to discourage the maneuver.

Saturday’s was the second fatal wreck on Highway 17 in just over 12 hours. On Friday morning, a woman was killed in a single-car crash near Jarvis Road, north of Scotts Valley, the CHP reported. Her car, which was northbound, caught fire after hitting the median barrier and then the guardrail on the east shoulder.

Copyright © 2025 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.

(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *