The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office has identified the woman killed in an accident Monday afternoon on Highway 156 near Hollister.
The 19-year-old driver was Alejandra Alcaraz of Watsonville, according to the sheriff’s office, which acts as the county coroner.
Alcaraz was eastbound on Highway 156 around 2:20 p.m. Monday in a 2004 Oldsmobile Alero and, for unknown reasons, left the right shoulder and overcorrected back into westbound traffic, according to the California Highway Patrol. A 2008 GMC Arcadia, driven by a 50-year-old woman from Salinas, struck the car on the driver’s side.
Alcaraz was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the CHP. The sport utility vehicle driver was airlifted to Regional Medical Center of San Jose with complaints of pain to her neck, back and left knee.
Both vehicles rested facing westbound on the highway as traffic slowly drove through the area, one lane at a time. The front-right portion of the car was severely damaged, along with the windshield.
Responding was the CHP, the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office, the Hollister Fire Department and the county’s contracted Calfire unit.
