Update, 12:30 p.m. Monday:
A pedestrian on Highway 129 died Monday morning when was hit by a truck, then struck repeatedly by passing vehicles, the California Highway Patrol reported.
Two motorists involved in the deadly, pre-dawn accident have come forward, but CHP officers believe several others ran over the man and continued driving.
Investigators would like to speak with those drivers.
The fatal chain of events began just before 6 a.m. when a 42-year-old Watsonville man driving east on the highway between Carlton and Sillimann roads saw a man standing in the eastbound lane. The driver, who was behind the wheel of a 2005 GMC Sierra 2500, tried to avoid the pedestrian but was unsuccessful. He hit the man, CHP officer Sarah Jackson reported.
The driver, David Kane, immediately stopped and called 9-1-1. While he was on the phone with CHP dispatchers, several other vehicles ran over the fallen man, "possibly thinking it was an animal or something else," Jackson said.
An ambulance arrived at 6:03 a.m., 10 minutes after the 9-1-1 call was placed. CHP officers got to the crash site six minutes later, but the pedestrian died at the scene.
Information about the man killed has not been released.
CHP officers are trying to track down the other motorists involved in the deadly crash, according to Jackson.
One woman who was driving through the area at the time called the CHP about 90 minutes after the crash to report her involvement. Jackson said that woman had heard about the accident on the radio.
It was still dark out when the crash occurred and there was patchy fog on the two-lane highway, which runs through strawberry and lettuce fields.
CHP asks that anyone with information regarding this collision to contact CHP dispatch at 831-796-2160.
Original Story:
One person hit by a vehicle and killed on Highway 129 east of Watsonville early Monday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The fatality was reported at 5:53 a.m. on Highway 129 between Carlton and Silliman roads, according to the CHP.
At least one vehicle hit the pedestrian. That driver called 9-1-1 to report the crash. About 90 minutes after the accident, a second motorist who may have also hit the pedestrian apparently called the CHP, according to the Highway Patrol's online traffic incident log.
CHP officers shut down the road to investigate the collision. One lane of traffic reopened around 9 a.m., and the highway was cleared by mid-morning, according to the CHP.
The two-lane highway cuts through agriculture fields, connecting Watsonville to Highway 101. It's often shrouded in fog and has narrow shoulders. Passing is prohibited on most of the roadway, a change made in recent years to reduce the number of head-on crashes on the highway.
No other information about the death was immediately available.
— Bay City News contributed to this report.
