Santa Cruz remembering young 12-year-old killed in Hwy 1 accident
UPDATE 8/10/15: The Santa Cruz community is mourning the loss of a 12 year old girl killed over the weekend. Authorities say Coco Lazenby was a passenger in a car that was rear-ended on Highway 1 in Santa Cruz. That chain reaction crash is having a chain reaction in the community.
According to authorities, 34 year old Ernesto Plancarte of San Jose was driving a Ford 350 pickup truck, when for some reason he slammed into the back of a Toyota Prius. That kicked off a chain reaction tht included three other cars, 12 people total. Coco died was killed.
While drugs and alcohol do not appear to be factors, the CHP says distracted driving may have been.
“There was possibly some sort of inattention,” Officer Trista Sharp said. “Witnesses have said that the vehicles in front of him have been stopped, and that he just did not stop.”
Coco’s mom was flown to Natividad Medical Center for her injuries. No one else was injured. Plancarte is cooperating with police and at this point, he is not facing any charges.
12 year old Coco was well-known in the local theater community. The artistic executive director Lindsey Chester with All About Theater said Coco had an aura to her, and that she was a kind person who was never mean-spirited.
UPDATE 8/9/15: A five-vehicle crash in Santa Cruz Saturday evening left a 12-year-old girl dead, authorities said.
The collision occurred just before 5 p.m. on Southbound Highway 1 South of La Fonda Avenue, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A San Jose man driving a Ford E-350 struck the rear of a Toyota Prius causing a chain reaction crash with three other vehicles, CHP said.
The 12-year-old girl was a passenger inside the Toyota Prius. She died on scene. The driver of the vehicle was air lifted to Natividad Medical Center with unknown injuries, CHP said.
A passenger and driver inside one of the vehicles suffered minor injuries.
Neither drugs or alcohol are believed to be a factor in the collision, CHP said.
The cause of the collision is under investigation.
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The California Highway Patrol is investigating a deadly crash on Southbound Highway 1 just north of Soquel Drive in Santa Cruz.
The call came in just before 5 p.m. Saturday and the crash involved three vehicles. There are multiple injuries and one person is dead, CHP dispatch said.
On Twitter, the Santa Cruz CHP is warning of heavy traffic and telling drivers to avoid the area.
It’s unclear how the crash happened but this article will be updated when more information becomes available.
