A Hollister woman died in a single-vehicle car accident on
Highway 156 east of Rocks Road early Thursday morning after she
lost control of her car, careened off the highway and overturned
into a tree, according to police.
Hollister – A Hollister woman died in a single-vehicle car accident on Highway 156 east of Rocks Road early Thursday morning after she lost control of her car, careened off the highway and overturned into a tree, according to police.
Griselda Ruiz, 22, was pronounced dead at the scene after she crashed her 2000 Kia into a tree around 2:15am Thursday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
She was traveling westbound at a high rate of speed when she lost control and drove off the road, said CHP Officer Chris Armstrong. After leaving the roadway, the car slid on its side and crashed into a tree – crushing the car from the roof to the rear of the vehicle, he said. The car then rolled back onto its wheels were it came to rest, he said.
Emergency personnel arrived on scene and used the Jaws of Life to remove the top portion of the car in order to extricate her, he said. Ruiz was wearing her seat belt, but she was dead before firefighters were able to remove her, Armstrong said.
San Benito County Sheriff’s Detective Bryan Penney said the cause of death is being unofficially attributed to massive blunt force trauma, pending an autopsy to be performed Friday.
No other cars were involved in the accident, and police are still investigating whether alcohol played a factor in the crash, Armstrong said.
“It’s unknown at this point,” he said. “There’s nothing to substantiate she was under the influence, but we’ll do a test anyway. It’s very standard to do a toxicology report on that (a fatal accident).”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or em*******@fr***********.com
