WATSONVILLE—A 33-year-old Watsonville man died in a solo-vehicle crash just before midnight Tuesday on Riverside Road, or Highway 129.
California Highway Patrol officer Sam Courtney said the victim was driving a 1999 Lexus west on Riverside Road south of Lakeview Road with a 44-year-old female passenger at a high speed.
The driver, who has not been identified, then lost control and careened off the highway. The car plunged into a drainage ditch and rolled over numerous times. The driver and his passenger, who were not wearing seat belts, were ejected from the car.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The female passenger suffered major injuries and was taken to an out-of-county medical center.
“It is believed that alcohol and drugs were a factor in this collision,” Courtney said.
The crash took place a few hundred yards from the newly opened roundabout at the intersection of Riverside and Lakeview roads.
The crash is still under investigation.
