KING CITY — A Salinas teenager has died after his vehicle overturned Sunday night on Highway 101 between King City and Greenfield, causing a three-car crash that closed the highway for several hours.
On Sept. 30 at about 7:33 p.m., Marcelino Martinez III, 18, of Salinas was driving a gray 2001 GMC Yukon northbound on Highway 101 south of Teague Avenue at 80 to 90 mph when the vehicle drifted into the dirt center divide and overturned into the southbound traffic lanes. The Yukon was then struck by a blue 2015 Chevy Cruze driven by Eliseo Jaimes-Sanchez, 47, of King City.
The Cruze came to rest on the righthand shoulder, while the Yukon blocked the No. 1 southbound lane “with no lighting equipment activated,” according to the California Highway Patrol (CHP).
One of the Yukon’s passengers, a male juvenile from San Juan Bautista, exited the vehicle and ran into the center divide.
Afterward, a 2003 Dodge Ram driven by Peter Garin, 63, of King City was traveling southbound in the No. 1 lane and “could not see the blacked out vehicle in the roadway ahead and collided with the driver side of the Yukon,” CHP said Monday in a news release.
Martinez was pronounced dead at the scene. His other passenger, 19-year-old Bryan Pacheco of Salinas, and the juvenile suffered major injuries in the crash and were taken to Natividad Medical Center in Salinas and Valley Children’s Hospital in Fresno, respectively.
Jaimes-Sanchez and his passenger, 44-year-old Angelica Martinez of King City, suffered moderate injuries and were taken to Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital in Salinas.
Garin suffered moderate injuries as well, and was taken to Mee Memorial Hospital in King City.
The southbound lanes of Highway 101 were closed for about three hours during the investigation, with traffic being diverted off the freeway onto Teague Avenue during the closure.
