Aptos, CA : Retired Santa Cruz County sheriff’s deputy killed in wreck in Southern California on Friday, December 16, 2016

A retired Santa Cruz County sheriff’s deputy died after a tractor-trailer veered from Interstate 10 and struck the man’s stopped Ford F-250 under an overpass in Southern California, according to California Highway Patrol.

Robert “Bob” Costere, 66, of Aptos, sustained major head trauma when a 2014 Peterbuilt heading west at 50-55 mph left the road’s right side and struck the former officer. Costere was standing at the driver’s side of the Ford near passing traffic in the City of Colton under the Rancho Avenue overpass, Highway Patrol Officer Brian Alvarez said.

Costere retired as a deputy in Santa Cruz County in 2005. Records available Wednesday tracked Costere’s service to 1987, but his tenure may have preceded that date, Santa Cruz County spokesman Jason Hoppin told the Sentinel.

Christopher Horsey, 38, of Ontario was driving the tractor-trailer, which towed a tanker, when he veered into Costere’s parked truck 10:37 p.m. Dec. 16, Alvarez said.

“Following the collision, Mr. Horsey immediately stopped on the right shoulder and attempted to render aid,” according to a release by Highway Patrol’s San Bernandino office. “For reasons still under investigation, the 2014 Peterbuilt drifted to the right, onto the asphalt shoulder.”

Alvarez said reports had no information about passengers in either vehicle.

As to whether charges would be filed, Alvarez said that information is under investigation.

A gofundme.com account launched Tuesday afternoon had raised $3,915 from 31 donors in 18 hours. Those donors included local law enforcement officers who have served during Costere’s tenure at the Sheriff’s Office.

Costere was on the way to pick up his daughter and grandson at the airport in Ontario for the family’s holiday gathering in Hemet, according to the gofundme.com fundraiser called “The Bob Costere Memorial Fund.”

“For reasons unknown, Bob slowed his vehicle, pulled to the side of Interstate 10 and parked his vehicle under an overpass in the emergency lane,” according to the gofundme.com post.

“Bob was creative and colorful but always generous, almost to a fault,” according to the post, which was created by Mac and Marisa MacDonald. “His goal was to provide for every child in Santa Cruz County through food drives, flea markets, fundraisers and silly acts that would bring a smile to anyone’s face.”

The post also describes his work as a “brilliant investigator, and though his methods may have been a little bit out of the ordinary, he was a fantastic field-training officer to many new recruits at the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.”

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Retired Santa Cruz County sheriff’s deputy killed in wreck in Southern California