UPDATED Police Chase Ends in Double-Fatality Crash

Update 8:30 a.m. Monday: A man and a 39-year-old female motorcyclist died Sunday when a car being pursued by the California Highway Patrol collided with oncoming traffic on Highway 1 just south of the Santa Cruz-Monterey county lines, the CHP reported.

The man who died was the subject of the police chase, according to CHP officer Sarah Jackson.

He reportedly had been speeding in a 1993 green sedan south on Highway 1 near Mar Monte Drive around 4:18 p.m. A CHP officer tried to stop the car, but instead the driver sped up, drove erratically and made unsafe lane changes, according to Jackson

The pursuit continued south on the highway. Heading into Watsonville near Buena Vista Drive, the man collided head-on with a guard rail in the center of the highway, the CHP reported.

The CHP officer slowed as the green sedan zipped through the Watsonville stretch of the highway. Crossing the Pajaro River bridge—at the county line—the CHP officer was about 600 feet behind the fleeing vehicle, according to Jackson.

That's when the green sedan side-swiped a white sports utility vehicle carrying a Castroville family of three. The sedan kept going, crashing head-on into the motorcyclist, a Middleton woman, according to Jackson.

The driver of the sedan and the motorcyclist both died at the scene. Their names have not been released pending notification of next of kin, according to the CHP.

An adult woman in the SUV also suffered minor injuries and was treated at Watsonville Community Hospital, the CHP reported.

Update 6:30 a.m. Monday: Southbound Highway 1 at the Santa Cruz-Monterey County line reopened around 3:30 a.m. but the northbound lanes remained closed as of 6:30 a.m., according to CHP officer Sarah Jackson.

Motorists heading from Monterey toward Santa Cruz should take another route, she said. Highway 101 to 129 or 152 is suggested.

Original report, 10:45 p.m. Sunday: A high-speed police pursuit on Highway 1 ended in tragedy Sunday afternoon when the car being pursued crashed, killing the driver and a motorcyclist, KION Central Coast News reported.

The deadly accident happened around 4 p.m. just south of Watsonville near the construction of the new Salinas Road overcrossing.

Witnesses told KION News that the car was being chased by California Highway Patrol officers. The vehicle was going about 105 mph and hit a white sport utility vehicle head-on, according to KSBW Action News 8.

Further details about the crash, including the identities of those involved, were not available Sunday night.

Portions of the highway were closed for hours. Motorists said it took more than an hour to make the trip between Moss Landing and Watsonville, normally less than a 15-minute drive.