Deceased driver had license suspended for drunk driving
San Benito County – A 24-year-old Morgan Hill man was killed Sunday evening in a single vehicle accident that sent his passenger to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Pete Benavidez was pronounced dead at 7:32pm by the San Benito County Coroner at the scene of the accident.
According to the California Highway Patrol report at 6:38pm Benavidez was driving a Chevy Malibu northbound on San Felipe Road south of Highway 152 with Zeke Hernandez, 22, of Hollister as a passenger.
Benavidez was allegedly speeding and was unable to steer the Malibu around a gradual left turn. The car drifted onto the dirt shoulder on the right side of the roadway, and as Benavidez tried to correct, he turned the wheel too sharply, according to the CHP report, causing the Malibu to spin around and slide off the road into a utility pole and wrought iron fence.
As the Malibu’s right side slammed into the pole and fence, the car rolled up on the right side, and the utility pole broke, crashing down on the driver’s side of the vehicle and trapping both Benavidez and Hernandez inside.
The downed electrical wires caused a problem for fire and paramedics responding to the scene, and PG&E workers were called to the scene to assist. Hernandez was extricated from the crushed vehicle by the “jaws of life” equipment.
Hernandez was airlifted to San Jose Regional Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition Monday.
It is unclear if Benavidez had been drinking before the accident, but his driver’s license was suspended for DUI-related offenses, according to the CHP.
San Felipe Road was closed to traffic for approximately four hours Sunday evening while PG&E workers removed the downed utility pole.
