The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports that the Santa Cruz County Coroner’s Office recently released new information related to an August crash that left two people dead and one child injured.
According to the report, 62-year-old Steven Bryant was driving under the influence of “illegal controlled substances.” Investigators say that those substances were likely the result of a crash on the afternoon of August 30 along Mt. Hermon Road near Skypark Drive in Scotts Valley.
An investigative report from the Scotts Valley Police Department indicates that the fatal crash happened at approximately 4:30 p.m. when Bryant’s vehicle was observed swerving erratically into the oncoming lanes of traffic. Just before 5:00 p.m. between Skypark Drive and Lockhart Gulch Road, Bryant’s gold Honda Acura collided head-on with a white Ford Econoline commercial van.
Both Bryant and his 58-year-old wife were killed in the crash. A girl of an undisclosed age who was also a passenger in Bryant’s vehicle was injured in the crash and was rushed to an area hospital to be treated for serious injuries.
The driver of the van also suffered minor injuries.
The Scotts Valley Police Department has been monitoring the girl’s progress. “We are happy to report that although she will have a long road to recovery, she is doing well.”
Police say that the fatal crash also serves as a tragic warning. “Driving impaired is not just limited to alcohol,” the department’s social media post read. “Driving while under the influence of any intoxicant is illegal. The choice to drive impaired is one that could potentially cost you your life, your passenger’s lives, and/or the life of anyone else on the roadway.”
On behalf of our firm’s attorneys and staff, we would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the surviving family and friends of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to those injured.
