Hollister
– Hollister-Gilroy California Highway Patrol officers are still
investigating the cause of single-car accident near San Juan Oaks
Golf Club that took the life of a Hollister teen Tuesday
morning.
Hollister – Hollister-Gilroy California Highway Patrol officers are still investigating the cause of single-car accident near San Juan Oaks Golf Club that took the life of a Hollister teen Tuesday morning.
Hugo Soto, 17, and his 23-year-old passenger, Areseli Dias, also of Hollister, had been driving in a 1987 Honda Accord on the private driveway that leads to the golf club early Tuesday morning in a patch of fog before running off the road, according to CHP Public Information Officer Chris Armstrong. The car collided with a concrete lamp post around 6:30am. Armstrong said the teen had been driving without a license. Soto was taken by ambulance to Hazel Hawkins Hospital, where he later died of his injuries. Dias was taken Saint Louise Hospital in Gilroy with moderate injuries. She was later taken to San Jose Regional Medical Center and was last listed in stable condition, Armstrong said. He did not know if she had been released from the hospital as of press time on Thursday.
Armstrong said both Dias and Soto were wearing seat belts at the time of the accident. Alcohol was not a factor, he said. No one witnessed the accident and it is unclear how fast Soto had been driving at the time. Investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing, Armstrong said.
The San Juan Oaks Golf Club community was shocked and saddened by the accident, said Manny Freitas, the club’s assistant general manager. He said accidents on the serpentine stretch of road are rare.
“It’s a very safe road,” he said. “We were surprised and concerned after hearing about the accident.”
Scott Fuller, the club’s general manager, said Dias and Soto were not members or employees of San Juan Oaks Golf Club.
An autopsy report by the San Benito County Coroner’s Officer showed that Soto died of blunt force trauma, Undersheriff Pat Turturici said. Soto had worked as a migrant laborer near the golf course.
The teen’s family and friends could not be reached for comment by press time on Thursday.
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
