A 29-year-old man died early Thursday morning when his Mercedes sedan went airborne, slammed into a tree, and burst into flames on Seabright Avenue in Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz Police Lt. Wes Morley said the Santa Cruz man was traveling northbound on Seabright around 1:10am in a newer model Mercedes sedan when, for unknown reasons, he lost control at a “high speed.”
His car clipped a curb, shot into the air and tore off the top of a tree before crashing to the street. The car, with a dog on board, then flipped onto its side, caught fire and slid past Windsor Avenue on the 1200 block of Seabright before coming to a rest against two parked Toyota sedans.
“I was dozing off while watching TV,” said resident Heather Lane. “I heard this huge crash. I thought the car was going to come through my house. I ran out and tried to pull the man and his dog out from under the car. They were ejected and the car landed on top of them.”
SCPD spokeswoman Joyce Blaschke said the driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Morley said the dog was rushed to a veterinarian and is expected to live.
The driver’s name is being withheld until the family is notified.
Anyone with information about this crash is asked to call the Santa Cruz Police Department Traffic Investigations Sergeant Michael Hedley at 831-420- 5777, ext. 4834.
